''Coherence'' is the fifth studio album by the Australian

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...

band

Be'lakor Be'lakor is an Australian melodic death metal band from Melbourne, Victoria. The band's name originates from the character ''Be'lakor the Dark Master'', in the Warhammer Fantasy game setting. History Be'lakor formed as a band in 2004, but did no ...

. It was released by the music label

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg. The label later ...

on 29 October 2021.

Background

''Coherence'' is the first new full length album released by the band since 2016. The album was mixed by

Jens Bogren Jens Peter Daniel Bogren (born 13 November 1979) is a Swedish record producer, mixer and recording engineer specializing in heavy metal music. He has worked on albums by Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Sepultura, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, Katatonia, Babym ...

(

Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...

Katatonia Katatonia are a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for the band's love of death metal. Increasing popularity led them to ...

Leprous Leprous is a Norwegian rock band from Notodden, formed in 2001. The group was founded by singer and keyboardist Einar Solberg and guitarist Tor Oddmund Suhrke. After releasing several demos with relatively unstable lineups, the band released th ...

At the Gates At the Gates is a Swedish death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Ga ...

). Three music videos were released for the album. The videos for "Hidden Window" and "Foothold" are lyric videos, while the video for "Valence" is a typical music video. Keyboardist Steve Merry stated in regards to the album "Coherence has two of our longest ever songs; it has some really substantial instrumental tracks; it’s heavy and progressive in places, but still full of the melody that drives our work. The album’s lyrics also explore quite different ideas to those of our earlier albums."

Reception

The album was well received by both fans and critics. ''Metal Injection'' noted that "their progressive-inflected brand of melodic death metal is rocking enough to satisfy people who crave a true death metal experience, yet dynamic enough to please those who don't feel like listening to an hour of blast beats... ''Coherence'' is an outstanding melodic death metal album and is highly recommended to metal fans of all persuasions." This is the kind of album that proclaims its prowess right away, but has enough staying power to keep even the most devoted listeners occupied for the rest of 2021, if not well into the next year, thanks to its highly involved and complicated nature. Be'lakor's songwriting abilities are unrivaled in the genre, as they push and pull dynamics and atmosphere like no one else in the melodic death metal genre. The sheer wealth of sensations evoked by this record is a treat to behold, yet it is done so without vanity or self-indulgence. The album was nominated 'Global Metal Release Of The Year' at the 2021

Global Metal Apocalypse ''Global Metal Apocalypse'' is a blog run by Rhys Stevenson with a globally inclusive focus on the heavy metal genre, its many variants, and its socio-political context. Inspired by the documentary Global Metal (2007), it was established 25 O ...

awards, it finished 4th.

Track listing

Personnel

Be'Lakor * George Kosmas – guitar, vocals * Shaun Sykes – guitar * John Richardson – bass * Elliott Sansom – drums * Steven Merry - Keyboard Production * Troy McCosker – producer *

- mixing * Tony Lindgren - mastering

Charts

References

{{Reflist 2021 albums Napalm Records albums Be'lakor albums