Light This City - Remains of the Gods (2005)

Light This City arguably came into their own with this release, which, coincidentally, was also their first album for Prosthetic Records, by striking upon the two pronged formula that would characterize their particular mix of melodic death metal henceforth: velocity and bombast. The first permeates every song so completely and compulsively (as indeed it would on every one of the band albums) that their inexorable intensity would simply overpower the senses without the second timely punctuations, which really help to give shape and temper emotions during standouts like the opening title cut, the excellent midsection riffs of "Obituary," and the brilliant Gothenburg-style staccato picking of "The Hunt." Kudos, too, to vocalist Laura Nichol, who compensates for her relatively indistinct (though always impassioned) death growl with thoughtful lyrics like those of "Letter to My Abuser" and "Your Devoted Victim," which address matters of mental and physical cruelty from a refreshingly female point of view, at least in the macho world of heavy metal. But a distinctly weaker second half, marked by more of the same über thrashers and an unimpressive instrumental conclusion unwisely named "The Last Catastrophe," proves that Light This City still needed a little more experience and maturation to make their inspiration match the boundless energy and physical stamina displayed from start to finish on albums such as this.

Band: Light This City
Album: Remains of the Gods
Genre: Death Metal/Speed Metal/Heavy Metal
Country: San Francisco, California, United States
Release Date: May 17, 2005
Label: Prosthetic Records

"Tracklist"

01. "Remains of the Gods"
02. "Obituary"
03. "A Guardian in a Passerby"
04. "The Hunt"
05. "Letter to My Abuser"
06. "Fractured by the Fall"
07. "The Static Masses"
08. "Guiding the North Star"
09. "Your Devoted Victim"
10. "The Last Catastrophe"

Remains of the Gods ♪♫