Rave the Reqviem - EX-EDEN -Album Review
Rave the Reqviem are back with their fifth studio album EX-EDEN.
Rave the Reqviem the Swedish industrial metal dubstep-infused band is back with their fifth studio album – EX-EDEN. I haven’t been a fan of Rave the Reqviem for long, discovering them a few years ago with their fourth album Stigmata Itch.
Album five opens slightly differently as instead of a gospel-inspired track we get a creepy whisper chant titled (0)485 before things explode with Doombreaker. It's a bombastic track filled with heavy riffs that fuse perfectly with the dubstep for joyous chaos. This union is the heaviest and instrumental focused on the first three tracks, Anti-Savior, and Ofelia, where the lyrics come to life.
A huge element of this album is the story /narrative Rave the Reqviem craft through the album. The ability to create vivid characters, settings, and emotions holds this album together. Ofelia is where you first truly ‘see’ the characters. The vocals have been outstanding so far and How to Hate Again perfectly showcases The Prophet (Filip Lönnqvist) and Jennie Nord (The Sister Svperior Of The Chvrch Of RTR) [these are the titles they give their members] vocal talent.
Zero Solace is where the industrial metal side of the band takes a back seat and I wish it didn’t. There is an overindulgence of techno elements that overshadow Jenny’s stunning vocals and powerful lyrics. A similar thing happens on Edge of Eden where the vocals ground the track but the robotic autotune is the one element in both tracks that derails them from being perfect.
REQVIEM_05 is another instance of overindulgence but here that overindulgence amplifies the chaotic nature of the lyrics. Rave the Reqviem has achieved beautiful chaos here, leading to the album's best track.
Exit Babylon is everything you want from a Rave the Reqviem track. This is fun, heavy, and one hell of an earworm. There is an ABBA-eques sound to the chorus and once you hear you’ll enjoy it that much more. The Seraph is allowed to truly shine with soaring vocals that reach their peak during the chorus. It’s a strong contender for my track of the year.
EX-EDEN concludes on a strange note. Angry All The Time is a show tune-like track that’s sung with a childlike innocence. The lyrics call back to the overall theme of EX-EDEN of destruction and the desire to restart to an Old Testament world where the wicked are punished. The lyrics are unsettling as they are, but it is the piano by The Cantor that makes this track truly unsettling.
EX-EDEN is another strong entry from Rave the Reqviem. They know what works and how to craft vivid detailed narratives, throughout each track and the overall album. Their religious theming can be limiting to fully engage in if you don’t have the same beliefs. The incredible vocals and instrumentals do make up for that, as you can’t help but be impressed.