We’ve been waiting for this for years. With only 2020 EP Death of the Cosmic to tide us over from Hinayana’s excellent 2018 debut Order Divine, which received the TYMHM treatment from the great and mighty Dr. Wvrm, it has been a dry spell. The Austin, Texas quintet’s sound lends itself to the melodic death/doom, notably Finnish, melancholy of Insomnium or Swallow the Sun, but with tight songwriting and a patient unfolding through relentless plodding of Amon Amarth, Order Divine became a bit of a sleeper hit for 2018. Featuring a tight and concise bite that will soothe your soul before forcing you to spit out broken teeth, will you invite follow-up Shatter and Fall’s slow-motion beatdown?
Once again, this particular breed of death/doom focuses on harmony and melodies a la soaring guitar, piano, or synth paired with vicious growls and slowed chugs. It’s well-versed in the school of Insomnium, with melodic tones guiding the movements and moments of brutal punishment interspersed for maximum weight. Riding a fine line between doom heft, technical groove, and melody, with a few blackened tricks to behold, Shatter and Fall offers its trademark after a half-decade wait – Casey Hurd’s vicious growls alongside the riffs of guitarists Hurd and Eric Shtaygrud and bassist Matt Bius, amplified by Michael Anstice’s subtle keyboard wizardry and anchored by Daniel Vieira’s rock-solid drumming. Although Hinayana’s intersection of riff, melody, and melancholy is firmly established by Shatter and Fall and shows the quintet’s potential as a force to be reckoned with, it is T-boned and overshadowed by some limper bookends.
The intersection of Swallow the Sun-esque heft and Insomnium riffery and melody creates some truly crushing moments across Shatter and Fall. Singles “Reverse the Code,” “Triptych Visions,” and “Lost to Flame” are Hinayana trademarks, slow-motion grooves battering listeners with a nice blend of melody and brutality, while Hurd’s fiery growls guide smooth transitions between softer acoustic portions and intense metallic roars, an Opeth-esque dichotomy, and even Matt Bius’ bass makes tastefully technical appearances. “Spirit and Matter” and “The Answer” feature a newer element to the melodic death/doom palette, with blastbeats and down-tuned tremolo ripping alongside synth intensity, recalling the mighty Emperor in a more symphonic and blackened approach. There are guest spots in Shatter and Fall, and Aether Realm’s Vincent Jackson Jones’ is the better of the two in “Mind is a Shadow,” dueling with Hurd’s vocals with a formidably blackened rasp of his own, elevating an otherwise unspectacular track. The mix does Shatter and Fall justice, with a neat and tidy blend of subtle melody, doomy crunch, and melancholy atmosphere elevated at the right levels. The depth of Hurd’s vocals likewise are given much more room here, showcasing a ferocity only hinted in Order Divine.
However, Shatter and Fall lacks the absolutely mammoth quality of its predecessor or others of the death/doom ilk. Hinayana focuses on atmosphere and melody first and foremost, and it thus takes time for the act to show all its cards. The first three tracks are sorely disappointing, with “Slowly Light Collides” and “How Many Dreams” focusing entirely on open strums with only scattered chugs to provide its teeth, and “Mind is a Shadow” only elevated by its aforementioned guest spot. It was easy to lose hope until “Spirit and Matter” finally provides the heft it needs to rev the intensity. While derailed slightly with interlude “From Our Darkest Moments,” “The Answer” provides the heaviest moment of the album by far, only for closers “A Tide Unturning” and “Taken” to revert back to the melody-first simplicity of the first three tracks. Furthermore, while the renowned Tuomas Saukkonen of Before the Dawn, Wolfheart, and Dawn of Solace makes an appearance in the former, his and Hurd’s roars are so similar it is difficult to pinpoint his contribution.
While the meat of Shatter and Fall features some of Hinayana’s best, its milquetoast bookends tell a different tale, it is a bit of a disappointment that it takes so long to gain any traction and loses it quickly. I’m prone to hyperbole, so my assertions that Order Divine was one of the most promising melodic death/doom albums since Swallow the Sun’s The Morning Never Came makes Shatter and Fall even more disappointing. Featuring the lethal combination of riff, melody, and atmosphere at its best, and dwelling too dully in the Finnish sadboi slough at worst, Hinayana’s sophomore effort feels like an overall slump from an act that can do much better. Shatter and fall indeed.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: STREAM
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: hinayana.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/hinayanamusic
Releases Worldwide: November 10th, 2023
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