From the chilly fjords of Norway comes the full-length debut by retro prog-death-thrashers, Sovereign. Formed by members of black and thrash acts like Nocturnal Breed and The Konsortium, Altered Realities is 100% Death worship mixed with a generous topping of Possessed, Sadus and Demolition Hammer granola. It’s technical as Hell, proggy enough to be unusual, and has the requisite amount of thrashery to kick some teeth loose. If pressed to explain the album’s sound in an elevator pitch, I would say it sounds like the album Death could have recorded between Spiritual Healing and Human. Sound intriguing? Of course it does, and there’s plenty of late 80s death metal fun to be had here as the band flex their creative and technical chops all over the place. Is it perfect? No, but it has some of the wild charms of last year’s surprise hit from Blood Oath, and it throws a cosmic ass-ton of weird riffs and wonky time shifts at you.
The way Sovereign like to dissect your ears and mind jelly is put on full display with the 7-minute opening title track. It’s a flurry of proto-death riffs and thrashy pieces with a big clanging bass along for support. The production and presentation are very old school, and this sounds exactly like something that could have dropped in 87 or 88. Gravskjender’s vocals are somewhere between Chuck Schuldiner and Jeff Becerra from Possessed, and there’s an on-and-off Testimony of the Ancients era Pestilence vibe snaking its way out of the muck. This makes for a nostalgic experience for olde heads like me, and there’s a lot to soak up. However, the song is too long for its own good, and by the 5-minute mark, my mind starts to pack its bags. Sovereign do better with shorter cuts like the thrashing, bashing “Futile Dreams” where the band’s wanton proggy ambitions are kept somewhat focused and restrained. “Nebular Waves” shows what the band is capable of when they restrain their more excessive impulses to focus on putting the hammer down. This one is a sick altered beast out for bloody meat and the riffs and pacing are set to liquify. The chonky chugs plow the field and the aggression factor is just right. This is the track I keep coming back to and wanting more like.
Tracks like “Counter Tech” and “The Enigma of Intelligence” are ballsy and pack a punch, with varying side quests into Noddle Town and Wankville slowing the impact somewhat, with the latter offering some sweet Testament-like guitar flair. Mammoth ten minute closer “Absence of Unity” rumbles all over the place and lets the band really stretch their musical chops. What you get is undeniably interesting and impressive, but it’s way too bloated and overfull of ideas. This is a problem that infects a few of the cuts here as too many ideas are crammed in, making the songs feel disjointed and pieced together with duct tape and Gorilla Glue. This makes the album’s 41-minute runtime feel longer than it is, especially as it ends with a huge, attention-testing magnum opus. I love the production though, which is uber-retro but allows the instruments room to shine and interact clearly.
The gents making up Sovereign are all very talented musicians capable of anything and everything. Tommy Jacobson and V. Fineideath bring so much talent and exuberance to their guitar work that it’s hard not to love what they’re doing. They deliver classic early death metal leads, tasty thrash gallops, and their soloing is insane in the membrane, wandering through neo-classical influences into straight-up prog wankery and leaving few stones unkicked in the process. Gravskjender provides some impressive bass work alongside his retro death warbling, reminding me of Sadus and the Steven Di Giorgio days of Death. Not to be outdone, Cato Syversrud delivers a monster performance on the kit, keeping up with his lusty bandmates and providing an everflowing wall of fills, rolls, clicks, and bashes. The band is talented and tight, they just get in their own way at times with their composing by making things too hectic and busy.
Altered Realities is an interesting and impressive debut by a band that can do pretty much anything they want musically. I find a lot of the material nostalgic and entertaining, but I wish they were more focused in their writing at times. A bit less proggy adventurism and a touch more straightforward skull smashing and Sovereign could be a big deal. Well worth a loud spin.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Dark Descent
Websites: sovereignnorway.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/sovereignnorway
Releases Worldwide: January 19th, 2024
