Vaelmyst Uncovers The "Secrypts of the Egochasm" (Early Album Stream)

Every genre has aged and mutated over the years, but melodic death metal perhaps more than others. Driven by differences of opinion over what both “melodic” and “death metal” should mean, today it can range from something like Arch Enemy, where the “death metal” part basically means dressing in black and adding growls to watered-down power metal, to intensely retro-focused projects aiming to simply provide death metal with melody and none of the fluff. Vaelmyst, hailing from Los Angeles, sits at an interesting midpoint: while assuredly undiluted and fully devoid of fluff, their upcoming debut full-length Secrypts of the Egochasm isn’t looking to recapture the melodic death metal of decades past, but rather provide a new strain. Stately melodies and harsh vocals erect a glowering cathedral through which torrents of grisly death metal flow, but listeners will notice sizable chunks of heavy and thrash metal adrift in the spew as well. There’s multiple layers to absorb here, so begin your descent with our full premiere below.

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Vaelmyst cultivates a very specific melodic tone all throughout Secrypts of the Egochasm — perhaps “neoclassical” is one way to describe it, but more broadly it evokes an air of classic, gothic horror; like a sharply-dressed Victorian serial killer, the album’s formal inclinations make it that much more sinister. The powerful melodies at work are a large selling point, often introducing intricate harmonies or evolving into ghastly riffs as a song develops, but they wouldn’t work as well as they do without the nimble rhythm work underneath: full of gallops, strong basslines, and tight drum fills, there isn’t a single point on the album where a rhythm drags on for too long or the double-bass work grows wearisome.

Unified by driving melodies, the riffing can easily switch away from being brutal to simply kick ass. “Spineless Throne” is my favorite example of this, which starts off in a pounding thrash vein before bringing in the nastier work on top of some brilliantly weird guitar/bass harmonies. Though the main offering here is death metal, certainly, and with no shortage of melody, Vaelmyst has folded in the wider realm of extreme metal into a fresh and deadly sound.

Guitarist Bassist Ronny Lee Marks comments:

It’s truly an honor to finally be able to release and share our debut album “Secrypts Of The Egochasm” with all of you. John, Wyatt, and myself really poured our all into this and hope you will enjoy listening to the album as much as we enjoyed making it.
We’re also very excited to be able to perform some of these songs for the first time ever at Psycho Las Vegas and are looking forward to partying and headbanging with all you fellow death crazed metal maniacs!
Cheers and Enjoy!

Album pairs best with a high percentage beer and your favorite episode of Goosebumps.

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Secrypts of the Egochasm releases independently on August 13th and can be pre-ordered at the band’s Bandcamp page.