Album Reviews : Untruth – Act 1: The Absence of Beacons

Melbourne’s metal heads are truly spoilt for choice! Melbourne’s Untruth have recently released one hell of a EP titled Act 1: The Absence of Beacons. The 5 track offering is as good as it gets and if you didn’t know you certainly wouldn’t pick it as a debut. Recorded in Melbourne and mastered in Sweden, the 5 piece Melodic Death Metal outfit hailing from the Mornington Peninsula have created a versatile and highly inventive cd and in my opinion this year’s best debut.

The first track Army of Drones is a cracker, pure metal and almost anthem like in its structure. It’s very catchy and acts as an awesome opener for the disc. The second track The Possesing, I knew already from listening to it on their MySpace page what a great song it is. From its opening “Your bloodline will become mine” line through to its searing guitar harmonies. Surrogate Sacrifice draws you in with its great lyrical content and catchy riffs – an enchanting song that really moved me on the first listen with the melodies being stirring yet still quite brutal.

Forcefed is another song that really builds the intensity with its merciless delivery and great guitar solos, and final track In Absence of Beacons is another gem with some great chord progressions during the chorus which gives it quite a melodic feel – a captivating end to one of the best additions to my cd collection this year.

It excites me that we have talent of this caliber right here in our backyard. The production is A grade, all the material is very original, the musicianship and song writing is second to none. These guys will suit pretty much any Metal fan, however I guess as far as genres go, they are a Melodic Death Metal band. The stand out tracks for me are Army of Drones and Surrogate Sacrifice. Neither song are featured on their MySpace page, so get down to one of their gigs and get your hands on this killer EP. I see big things happening for these guys in the future and I look forward to seeing where they go next!

9/10

Band: Untruth
Album: Act 1: The Absence of Beacons
Year: 2009
Genre: Melodic Death Metal/Hardcore
Label: Self Released
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
http://www.myspace.com/untruth1

Track Listing:
1. Army of Drones
2. The Possesing
3. Surrogate Sacrifice
4. Forcefed
5. In Absence of Beacons

Review written by Nick Olden.