Groove metal is underrated. There aren’t a lot of bands who do it well, and even when they do, they’re usually regarded as “dumb fun music” that’s to be listened to get pumped and not much else. Enter Solipsist, Cleveland-based groove/death metal band. If I were to describe them as simply as possible, I’d say they’re Lamb of God meets Decapitated. Intrigued yet? The angry bellows of vocalist Noah Buchanan are reminiscent of LoG’s Randy Blythe, and the instrumental work is a cross between the clever, concise groove work of the former and the heavy, midtempo death metal of the latter, a la the classic “Sphere of Madness”. Solipsist have a new album titled The Burning Mass, and it’s worth checking out. You can do it after the jump!
Striking a balance between groove and death metal isn’t easy, because you can go too death metal and lose grooviness, or you can go too groovy and end up being overly simplistic. Solipsist take cues from melodic/progressive/technical death metal bands and include interesting riffage, clean sections and a lot more, while still keeping it very accessible and heavy. Fans of any of these genres can easily appreciate their work, as The Burning Mass is a really well rounded album that’s very easy to listen to, bob your head to and chant along to.
-NT