Infernaeon - A Symphony of Suffering

Oracle of Armageddon

Prosthetic
2007



Next to racism and homophobia, keyboards are what I hate most in metal. Occasionally, they're tasteful, like with, say, Opeth or Burst. But all too often, they muck up the mix and are a lazy way to add harmonic color. Fender, Gibson, Jackson...Korg? I don't think so.

Thus, any metal band with keyboards faces a steep uphill climb with me. Does Infernaeon make the cut? I'm still undecided. At the moment, I can't get behind A Symphony of Suffering as "good music." But I will wholeheartedly recommend it for its comedic value.

I don't think the band intended to be funny. Nothing in the packaging seems ironic. But, man, that artwork is cheesy. It's like Maurice Sendak doing the cover of Exodus' Tempo of the Damned. The press kit extols the band's "brash, memorable stage show mixing theatrical murder and makeup effects provided by Universal Studios." Yikes.

Florida keys

Infernaeon are some '80s thrashers unsuccessfully trying to pass as death metallers, with demented Dimmu Borgir/Dream Theater keyboards blaring away in the back. The keys are alternately symphonic, proggy, and twee - imagine if Morbid Angel worked their Nintendo music interludes into their songs (something I hope they never do). Two members are ex-Monstrosity, so the death metal has a Floridian flavor; I hear Morbid Angel and Deicide here.

A Symphony of Suffering has five proper songs, and the longest 1:47 keyboard intro ever. Once the band finishes beating The Legend of Zelda, it gets into some actual metal. The songs are nuts, alternating with little warning between raging metal and haunted house keyboards. Just when you're getting down with some blastbeats, along comes Tales from the Crypt. It's quite a mood killer.

However, the vocals are strong and help tie everything together. One song even ends with a 40 second-long scream, which doesn't seem possible without studio help, but is impressive nonetheless. Everything about this EP is so over-the-top that I can't help but find it charming. You can find this laugh/shredfest at Prosthetic.