Review: Byzantine - To Release Is to Resolve
By Eric Perzanowski
[WV Snakepit Music; 2015]
Rating: 3.5/5
Key Tracks: “Scold’s Bridle,” “The Agonies,” “A Curious Lot”
Doing things “for the fans” is an idea that many artists try to embody. Ever since getting back together after a four year split, West Virginia’s Byzantine has seemed to capture this idea and live by it. The group’s Facebook page features surveys for supporters to choose the setlist for upcoming tours, and the two albums created since the reunion have been made through various crowd-funding services.
Living up to the expectations of fans that gave their hard-earned money for the cause of a new recording can be tricky, in theory. The artist may hesitate to grow and expand musically, out of fear of backlash, and that may cause them to stick to the status quo. Byzantine’s fifth full-length, To Release Is To Resolve, is something that should definitely satisfy the diehards, while giving the not-so devout something worthwhile to listen to.
Byzantine’s sound largely falls into the “groove metal” category. Groove metal typically means the sound is based off thrashy riffs and groovy rhythms. However, within this scene, there is a large portion of acts that base their entire careers off Pantera and Lamb of God worship.
While these influences can definitely be heard in Byzantine’s music, there is a larger variety of styles mixed in, and that gives this band a unique sound. Between various metal subgenre buzzwords (“thrash,” “groove” and a bit of “death,”) there are also some rock and southern inspirations to be heard.
In addition to the wide amount of styles, there is no rigid commitment to any specific song structure. “Scold’s Bridle,” for example, goes all over the place. It begins sounding like something Pantera could have written during The Great Southern Trendkill era. The middle of the song comes off as hard rock, but it ends with an off-tempo breakdown similar to Meshuggah.
Despite all of these erratic mix-ups throughout many of the tracks, there is some sensibility and taste with these changes.
Compared to older releases like … And They Shall Take Up Serpents, it’s hard to say right now how To Release Is to Resolve matches up. However, such previous albums had a natural, raw aggression and heartiness that latched onto listeners’ ears. While this recording isn’t devoid of these qualities, it can be sparse in some places.
Overall, To Release Is to Resolve may not stand out as this groundbreaking achievement in the musical evolution of Byzantine; however, there is still a lot of quality material on this effort.
