Paths of Possession - The End of the Hour (2007)

Paths of Possession had honestly come a long way since their debut, the lacking Legacy of Ashes in 2002. Though The End of the Hour is not quite a rousing success, it exhibits several developments over its predecessors. In fact, its the closest I've come to actually enjoying one of their albums, with stronger songwriting and pretty intense production values. The guitar tone in particular is just mighty here, especially as the band use so many simple chugging, thrashing rhythms that border on Pantera grooves that it becomes essential in order for them to retain their effectiveness. The bass is well mixed, curvaceous and pummeling along with the drums, and George Fisher does a hell of a better job than he did on Promises in Blood.

That said, there are a lot of 'basic' elements here that come off as less than exciting. Some of the melodic riffs have a very Maiden feel to them, predictable and generic to the point that they don't really add anything to the muscular rhythmic substrate. Tracks where they have George flexing his chops often feel as they're overbearing. The guy has a nice, narrative sneer that he'll often alternate with his Corpse-grunts (as in "Engulfing the Pure"), but it does come tend to come off more hokey than serious, and that's not really something you want on a concept album about the evolution of some genocidal maniac. Also, for all the solid, melodic hooks that are woven through tunes like "Poisoned Promised Land" or "The End of The Hour" itself, there are quite a few that feel nothing more than empty filler. Thankfully, the thick guitars are such that even the more boring moments can cause the imagination to rock out for a measure or too, but they don't exactly leave an imprint on the memory.

There's a closing, untitled track here which is actually called "Soulless" and was a cover of one of the members' former bands (Cancerslug). I've never heard of them, but the song instantly feels peppier and more fun, like a bunch of groovy ghouls rocking out some death/thrash one night at the local sepulcher. There's enough depth to this one that I almost wish they had just had Cancerslug write all of the Paths of Possession material, because it was at least fun. The bold production, the slight increase in songwriting quality and Fisher's better grasp of his position are just not enough to cross the margin into a solid recommendation, but if you're intent on checking out any of the PoP material, start with this, even if the lyrics and concept are nowhere near what the band probably hoped they'd be.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/pathsofpossession

Paths of Possession - Promises in Blood (2005)

Things were beginning to look up for Paths of Possession by the time they got around to their sophomore. The most interesting of the band's developments was the acquisition of ex-Monstrosity and current Cannibal Corpse choker George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher, who would provide a curious contrast to the band's mix of traditional metal and melodic death. A much different environment for the guy, and though he doesn't exactly change it up from his main band, the very difference in the musical content seems to draw out a different edge to this throat. Now, this might well have had something to do with the band's signing to Metal Blade, another positive step which could expose their unique, rocking approach to death metal to a broader audience. And then there's the cover art, which is beyond awesome...

Sadly, Promises in Blood itself does not quite live up to the potential of such an endeavor. Some of the tunes here are repeated from Legacy in Ashes, including "Darklands", "Bring Me the Head of Christ" and "The Second Coming", and while Fisher's vocals and a superior production standard trump the debut cuts, they have not suddenly improved riff-wise. Driving, mid-paced melodic fare that simply doesn't stick to the ears beyond a handful of spins. Several others are taken from a split the band had put out some years prior, including "The Butcher's Bargain" which is just a standard, mid paced piece with chugging and no decent riffs to speak of, the slightly more up-tempo "A Heart for a Heart", and "The Icy Flow of Death", which starts off slow with broad chords and then picks up to the same speed as most of the album.

But there are a few gems, usually newer songs like the title track "Promises in Blood" which is more intense, pretty much what I wanted to hear when I heard that Corpsegrinder was taking part; or "In My Eyes" with its storming percussion and writhing mute floes; or the huge and potent grooving of "Where the Empty God Lies", which just might be the best on the album. Here you get a good cross-section of Fisher's wider potential and the band's underlying concept come to fruition: a guest star making his mark beyond his safety net of saturated viscera. But the album is unfortunately not all that consistent, nor great, and these days it seems to exist only as a cursory curiosity for George's die hard followers. Simply put, Paths of Possession did not have that same level of excitement and intensity that all the Gothenburg and Finnish keyboard core melodeath acts bring to bear, even if their more traditional flavor was refreshing. A lot of the tunes here, while tightly executed, lack that explosive, elusive quality that makes the kids wanna jump up and scream. Slaughter of the Soul this is not, but neither is it totally disposable.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/pathsofpossession

Paths of Possession - Legacy in Ashes (2002)

Really, it was inevitable. A Florida death metal act to draw influence from the more melodic treatment being given the genre at large. To their credit, Paths of Possession do not approach their writing with the diminishing returns of all the At the Gates and In Flames wannabes, but as more of a halfway point between the local death metal of a band like Death, Massacre or Six Feet Under with a dose of traditional 80s metal and some cursory grooving material which is sadly the bane of this debut album's existence. Legacy in Ashes is before the band acquired the presence of Cannibal Corpse (and ex-Monstrosity) front man George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher, and the vocalist here sounds more like a lower pitched Chuck Schuldiner or John Tardy.

He's not really the problem, though. The issue with Legacy in Ashes is that, while a mix of heavy and death metal is a pretty good idea, one that in superior hands has seen mild success, Paths of Possession don't really do anything compelling with the hybrid, at least not on the debut. A few of the tracks like "Darklands" and "Army of Death" have surging melodies gliding across the loud and plunk bass tone and double-bass infused drums, but the majority of them represent nothing more than half-assed groove/death metal anthems that you could find in any 90s nu metal or bar-core band. "Cold Vengeance" is one such sucker, a song so pathetic in its bouncing banality that I can't believe the band included it here. Or "The Dawn Brings War", which is more redolent of Obituary at their most mundane. Others try to straddle the space between these two poles, like "The Sword Coming" and its glorious but weak melodies, but on the whole the album just never distinguishes the band's ideas beyond their roots.

The production is workmanlike and balanced enough, with the guitars having a nice crunch to them, but there is just no fire in the writing, and the best thing about Legacy in Ashes is the cover art. It's almost a pity, because this was at one point the new vehicle for ex-Morbid Angel axe-slinger Richard Brunelle. Had Paths of Possession pulled this off, they might have served as a welcome contrast to their local peers, who were mostly engaged in releasing mediocre or downright weak albums in the 21st century. Granted, this is before Corpsegrinder entered the picture, and the deal with Metal Blade, but then I wonder how either party's curiosity had been engaged by such a wimpy and indistinct debut such as this? A real 'first and worst' here.

Verdict: Fail [4.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/pathsofpossession