After a successful stint on the road, London based five-piece Exist Immortal are back with their second record, ‘Breathe’.

‘Saviour’ kicks things off with an ambient introduction of swirling keys and the distant thump of a kick drum that sounds like a heartbeat. It’s not long before the track explodes with low end chug and a menacing growl from the band’s vocalist. But it eventually shows the band have more of melodic side to offer too. The bounce remains but vocally it heads somewhere a little more serene.

Next up ‘Hindsight’ kicks off in a similar fashion but ups the pace once the full band kicks in. The guitar work is more evenly spread here, it’s still got thick slabs of crunch, but there are layers of guitar leads going off in different directions and a tasteful solo midway through.

‘Invisible Lines’ gets heavier still but Exist Immortal are far from one dimensional. Constant twists and turns keep the track from ever being all out metal. Once the release passes its halfway point there’s a sense the band have played all the weapons in their aresenal, and you may find ‘Breathe’ becomes a tad repetitive.

With that said,‘Release’ see’s the tempo slowed down a fair amount. There’s still a powerful stomp amidst the ambient musical backdrop, and this coupled with a massive vocal hook, smakes it the standout track on the album.

At their most extreme, Exist Immortal can hang with the heavies but the core of what they have achieved on ‘Breathe’ is the marriage of the crushing with the accessible and aggression with melody. While this isn’t a new concept by any means, it’s executed with a passion that makes ‘Breathe’ a worthy listen.

3/5

‘Breathe’ by Exist Immortal is released on October 28th on Primordial Records.

Exist Immortal links: Facebook|Twitter

Words by Shane Sanderson (@shanoscapanos)