Melodeath is an old, reliable friend for many a metalhead. Ever since the In Flames and Arch Enemies of the World took an anthemic and accessible version of the Gothenburg sound to the masses throughout the ’90s and ’00s, countless acts and other regional sounds have emerged from rollicking riff and less-than-deathly vocal inclusions. But combined with the right personal flair—a modern melding of blackened, jazzned, and altned influences much like contemporary wildcards Dawn of Ouroboros or Vintersea—melodic extreme metal forms have a growing presence in the hands of those who came of age with this musical history as their guide. Imitation breeds iteration, and, combined with adoration, the heart hopes to find a path alongside its infatuations, not just in shadow. Aversed walks the walk and Erasure of Color talks the talk.
As yet another product of a Berklee pedigree, in part, the Massachusetts-hailing Aversed displays a technical polish across their languished and rifftacular displays that saturates Erasure of Color far beyond mere hero worship. Rather than use these exemplary qualifications to noodle and sweep songs to oblivion, guitarist and primary songwriter Sungwoo Jeong runs with his talents through a gamut of heavy metal influences, from the Jeff Loomis-indebted (Nevermore, ex-Arch Enemy) squeals and scale runs (“Lucid Decapitation,” “Burn”) to a classic heavy metal strum and wail (“Departures”) that shade the languid messages sewn through Erasure. Of course, Jeong can shred and does so in flashes of neoclassical brilliance once cutthroat chords and rattling bass runs build tension enough to will an electric clearing (“Cross to Bear” and “Departure” having the wildest solos). Compared to the full-length debut, 2021’s Impermanent, the structures here are tighter, darker, and loaded with an expedited drama.
Emotion comes first, whether at Jeong’s nimble articulations or new vocalist Sarah Hartman’s vast array of screeching, tearing, and slithering harsh and clean vocal techniques. And through languishing cry, soulful croon, and whammy-kissed solo, Aversed builds a world through Erasure that’s as detailed as it is immediate. Churning riffs pave the way for Hartman to unleash laryngeal assaults of growing intensity, equally likely to find feral shrill (“To Cover Up the Sky,” “Lucid Decapitation”) as they are full-chested clean belting (“Inexorable,” “Departure”). It may seem that Hartman’s ferocious and elegant climbs drive the growth of each of Erasure’s numbers, but Jeong’s blend of Björriff to bright metalcore chase, and thrashy groove to swaying treble dive guitar action, carries just as much the energetic arc. Covered in echoing arpeggios (“Lucid Decapitation”), scorching bends (“Burn,” “Erasure of Color”), and unstoppable charges (“To Cover…”) Erasure wears a guitar identity that’s toothsome and exhilarating.
However, as strong as the pull of Aversed’s fervent rhythms and dreamlike melodies are on the best cuts from Erasure, its back half finds a more tepid momentum. It’s hard to say where a song like “Solitary” belongs on an album like this as its ballad-like nature neither swells with grandiosity of similar closer “Departures” nor slams, at its conclusion, with the level of thuggishness of the preceding “Burn.” And with the burst of speed that the title track injects after “Solitary” and before the acoustic interlude “Yearning,” the inherent tempo jostle that succeeds within many tracks feels bumpy at the macro level—really, Aversed has an exacting feel for acceleration and easing within the confines of each individual piece. Erasure doesn’t have a higher-level concept to spin, though, so any dip in quality or overall flow—even if no song is ever bad—is to its slight detriment.
Alas, it’s easy to love the best of what Aversed has to offer with Erasure of Color, its clanging rhythms and finessed guitar weeping sticking readily to memory with its most careful hooks. Finding contemporary touchstones adjacent to the blackened melodic tech of Australia’s Freedom of Fear, the hypnotic whammy abuse of the frenetic Fallujah, and accessible progressive aim of Vintersea, Aversed emboldens the forward-thinking melodeath scene to make an effort to be more riff-driven, more hook-wielding, and more vocally distinct. Erasure of Color does everything but paint Aversed as a one-trick pony. And in time, I’m certain1 that Aversed, in their impassioned and empathetic lashings, will find even more weaponized and wide-reaching aggression.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: M-Theory Audio | Bandcamp
Websites: aversed.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/aversedmetal
Releases Worldwide: March 21st, 2025
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