Apallic – Of Fate And Sanity

Of Fate And Sanity is the debut album from progressive death metal band Apallic.  A follow up to their Somnium EP released in December 2015.  Hailing from the north west German town of Emden, the five piece, who formed in 2014, according to their website have produced an album the concept of which deals with a protagonist in a persistent vegetative state, the resulting problems and the battle against death.  Heavy stuff indeed.  But if you like your music heavy and vocals Amon Amarth like then this is the album for you.

Band Members: Kristian (Bass), Klaas (Guitar), Frank (Guitar), Dennis (Drums), Eike (Vocals).

First track Iter Initium is a gentle introduction albeit with what sounds like a car crash and sirens in the background quickly followed by The Awakening with its driving drums and growling vocals right from the start running along at a fair old pace.  If you didn’t know better this could be mistaken for a parallel universe version of Amon Amarth.

Metal Prison, Masked Insanity and Day Before The Black carry on in the same vain with plenty of catchy riffs and changes of pace to keep things interesting.  As heavy as the material is there is plenty variation and musicality in there.  Eike on vocals has clearly worked at his trade with not only growling with the best of them but also being able to do it in a second language, English, and being clear enough to be understood. Well done that man.

After a short melodic pause with Deranged we are back on track with The Watchmaker which is the strongest track on the album.  The official video for The Watchmaker on YouTube which was shot at the Let The Bad Times Roll Festival in 2016 is well worth a look.  Leaking Hourglass again continues apace and by this point I began to realise just how well these guys can play and this is no bunch of amateurs.  Sometimes the skill levels of lesser known bands like Apallic can be lost in the noise and mayhem of the songs but not here.  Several listens allow you to appreciate some of the nuances on offer and you can only wonder what could be achieved in the future.  Last up is A Taste Of Lethe coming in at a hefty 13:55.   This is not one for the faint hearted or the casual listener and in terms of the album narrative is the battle of life and death reaching its final stage.  As far as that album narrative goes I will not give away too much more but only say that someone would do well to make a horror movie on the back of it.

As far as progressive death metal debuts go Apallic have produced a quality album full of memorable riffs and vocals and with a story well worth investigating further.

Track Listing:

1. Iter Initium  1:20
2. The Awakening  4:09
3. Metal Prison  5:50
4. Masked Insanity  6:34
5. Before The Black  6:01
6. Deranged  4:09
7. Iter Ex Umbra  1:33
8. The Watchmaker  4:09
9. Leaking Hourglass  5:00
10. A Taste Of Lethe  13:55

Release Date: 2nd June 2017

Record Label: Boersma-Records