Teksuo
Threnos

It's easy to talk about modern metal these days: you draw heavily from various genres, mix it all up, and you're done. In some cases, the results are dreadful, but there are rare exceptions where you get interesting productions.

With their debut album "Jiang Shi" in 2010, Teksuo seemed to be a derivative band with a thousand ideas in mind that were hard to achieve with the means available. Today, with "Threnos," things seem to have radically changed: thanks to the technical growth of the individual musicians and the wise choice to produce the album independently in their own studios. This choice seems to have provided the right calm for the protagonists, free from guidelines dictated by a producer, and therefore free to experiment with new solutions in their eyes.

Starting from these considerations, here are twelve well-crafted tracks, where the Scandinavian stylistic background proudly emerges, as well as the Spaniards' intention to make everything even more unusual. How? By intelligently approaching other types of metal through small details, ranging from breakdowns placed in the heaviest moments of the album to rock-oriented openings typically US style (see what Killswitch Engage did in "The End Of Heartache") that give ample breathing room to Teksuo's songwriting. It's also worth mentioning the good work done on the lyrics, much more impactful than in the past and skillfully exploiting the singer's melodic and screamo potential. The album cover art is tremendous, but this is a small detail that does not tarnish the good work done by the Spanish combo, never so inspired until now.