Emerging in the early 90s, in the midst of Norway’s legendary black metal scene, Christian band Extol have always been somewhat ‘against the grain’, initially striving to keep death metal at the forefront of the extreme music landscape. After splitting in 2007, Extol have now returned with fifth album Extol, and a new djent-flavoured sound.
Produced by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Paradise Lost), the album is executed with a tight, modern metal sheen which is certainly characteristic of Bogren’s work. The material is diverse and dynamic, taking in various metal influences as well the occasional lighter moment. The playing is also flawless and technical throughout, but aside from Bogren’s progressive input, the metallic elements are fairly generic.
The Christian lyrical content, found on the likes of ‘Open The Gates’ – with its distinctive, harmonised chorus implying a genuine Heavenly influence – could be considered rather preachy. This is not necessarily a bad thing, by any means; a person’s view of preachy art – whether religious or, perhaps, political in its nature – invariably seems to depend upon their own standpoint on the issue at hand. It does, however, often make it more difficult to judge the work on its own merits; one must separate their personal beliefs (or lack thereof) from the work itself.
Extol is certainly not without its merits. Highlights include ‘A Gift Beyond Human Reach’; it is pure melodic power, with vocal harmonies which, interestingly, bring to mind Queen. Elsewhere, Extol is a curious concoction consisting largely of clean vocals, acoustic guitars and blast beats, with its mellower passages recalling some of Katatonia‘s most recent work, and ‘Unveiling The Obscure’ closes the album with an atmospheric quality that is potent, though a little underdeveloped. Another negative would be that the variety of styles present, largely typified by the death growl/clean vocal juxtaposition, often has the effect of creating a certain disjointed feeling. This is particularly noticeable on opener ‘Betrayal’, with its death metal verse and hook-laden chorus sections seemingly spliced together; a trait which unfortunately lets the band down at various points throughout the entire album.
Ultimately, Extol is a hotchpotch of wildly differing ideas, which often feel ill-fitting, meaning that many of the songs – and thus, the album as a whole – come across more as an unbalanced contrivance, rather than a naturally flowing entity. Extol should certainly not be criticised for utilising a variety of sounds and influences – indeed, this should be encouraged – but one hopes that on future releases, these ideas are allowed to develop and evolve freely, and purely for the purpose of serving the song at hand as opposed to being contrived in the name of diversity.
5/10
Matt Ford