Quo Vadis - Defiant Imagination

The storm has been summoned

While Quo Vadis may not have had the most notoriety out of the plethora of death metal bands spurring up in the Québec area during the early 21st century, they certainly had proven themselves worthy amongst the elite tech death bands to have risen up from the province. Four years following their brilliant 2000 effort, Day into Night, they hit the recording studio again with a revamped lineup and high expectations from what had grown to a somewhat substantial fanbase. Defiant Imagination, like its predecessor, was expansion into new territories and yet an even more progressive approach, which is perhaps more prominent than on any of their past releases. While not entirely abandoning that distinct rockish vibe that had a strong presence in the previous album, they also retraced to their roots and took another stab at incorporating some classical influence. Essentially an equilibrium of passed efforts and new horizons.

Following the sudden departure of bassist, Remy Beauchamp and guitarist, Arie Itman, Bart Frydrychowicz had his hands full in trying to find a pair of suitable replacements. Recruiting soon to be (well, at the time) Neuraxis guitarist, William Seghers, and the already renowned bassist, Steve DiGiorgio, to fill as temps in the studio (couldn't have picked a better choice for the latter if you ask me). Stéphane Paré was also called upon for full-time duties in the vocal department. Not the most solid choice, but he has more depth and adds more substance than this lackluster predecessors. Production shines once again, not being overly sterile, but allowing all the instruments to flow freely with DiGorgio's fretless bass being one of the most prominent aspects in that regard. Speaking of whom, is an absolute monster on this release, which did not surprise me to the slightest. Laying down crunchy riff after riff on such tracks like "Tunnel Effect" or "Fate's Descent", or a wave of complex, progressive loops like on "Dead Man's Diary" or "Break the Cycle". Like with the majority of his albums, Defiant Imagination contains something from him that won't fail to impress you.

While not quite as grabbing as Day into Night, Defiant Imagination still delivers, albeit with a few blemishes here and there. There is definitely a very prominent, later era Death influence here, which is far more striking than previous efforts as opposed to the more European melodeath undertone that was present before. However, the band did not entirely abandon those melodic grooves and are still detectable in the likes of "Tunnel Effect" and the opener, "Silence Calls the Storm", which has an excellent build-up before dropping into an ocean of riffs underneath DiGiorgio's sporadic bass line and Bercier's relentless double bass. The strong progressive influence is abundant throughout this release. Tracks like "Break the Cycle", "Dead Man's Diary", and "Fate's Descent" flourish beautifully with intricate song structures, beautiful solos, and jazzy undertones. The former two especially, with strong build-ups before making the transition into surging, interchanging riffs with Bercier's complex double bass and cymbal patterns underneath. Flaws did exist however, as songs such as "To the Bitter End", and "In Contempt", are largely forgettable and bland. While "To the Bitter End" does contain some substance and a good sense of melody, "In Contempt" is entirely mundane, and just tends to drag on. The only real interesting thing about it is the opening bit with Bercier doing transitions from the ride bell to the snare. Other than that, I'd be content, if "In Contempt" just didn't exist as it's completely forgettable as soon as "Break the Cycle" kicks in.

Defiant Imagination also showed Frydrychowicz returning to his attempts in the integration of classical influence. Two interludes; "In Articulo Mortis", the first, has a strong gothic aesthetic, while the second orchestral piece, "Ego Intuo et Servo te", contains more of an Oriental vibe partially due to the harp tone. Both are very well composed pieces and a much more valiant effort than with their debut. The choirs flow perfectly with the orchestra and create a very haunting, enveloping atmosphere. In fact, I wish these pieces were more than just interludes, as they were two of the more exceptional tracks on the album. If Quo Vadis ever does happen to release anything else (going on 8 years now), I'd definitely suggest bringing back the classical influence.

To end the trilogy of Quo Vadis albums, I must say this was yet another impressive release. While not as captivating as its predecessor it was very well thought out, and beautifully composed. It soars with progression, and draws back to past ideas and refines them to nothing short of perfection. While Frydrychowicz may be the only original member left, I would be more than interested in hearing a follow up to this release. Defiant Imagination and all of its progressive beauty works, everything from the crunchy melodic riffs, to the magnificent solos, it's definitely an essential album for any enthusiast of the progressive variety of death metal.

84/100

Originally posted on Metal-Archives, September 25th, 2012

Quo Vadis - Day into Night

Let it burn

Four years following the release of the debut, Quo Vadis had emerged onto the Québec death metal scene as one of its main contributors and solidified their position with a follow-up to their solid debut Forever.... Abandoning much of the experimentation and classical influence that came with its predecessor, Day Into Night was more fixed on a progressive brand of their already intricate tech/melo death blend. What stemmed from this wound up being a set of memorable, melodic riffs and more complexity and focus in the song structures, while retaining that foot-to-the-floor groovin' death metal, and topping it all off with their signature technical flare. While some may classify this album as the band opening up to a more accessible style, I like to think of it as the expansion and refining of some brilliant ideas.

The first thing I noticed listening to this album was once again the production, however, not in a bad way like its former. They seemed to have cleaned it up quite a bit, albeit not quite as sterile as some of its melodic death metal counterparts. Returning is the same line-up from its predecessor, who bring to the table a much more focused approach this time around. Right from the get go, you will notice that this album contains a very energetic vibe throughout. Much more aggressive in some areas in comparison to Forever..., while still retaining its melodic edge. The opening two tracks are absolutely thunderous groovers with some tight, catchy melodic riffs and a ripping bassline, that coincides nicely with the tremors Yanic Bercier is brewing up on the bass drum. Plenty of hooks and short, effective breakdowns can be found throughout these two alone which are followed by some excellent, interchanging leads from Itman and Frydrychowicz on top of Bercier's pummeling double bass arrangements as well as his trade mark ride bell patterns. The latter of the two tracks is then sealed off by a superb set of solos from Itman, who goes as a bit of an unsung hero behind Frydrychowicz's leads. The album then proceeds to slow a bit in tempo into a solid, more progressive piece, "Hunter/Killer", which also contains some great leads and the dynamic drumming that continues to evolve as the album progresses, before picking right back up again into another steady rocker with a plethora of catchy riffage; "Let it Burn". 

The album is a continuous evolver and delivers a few slower tempo tracks such as the blissful, proggy instrumental "Dream" that envelopes you in a radiant sphere and carries you through a cosmic ocean of soothing guitars and a phenomenal bass piece from Remy Beauchamp, who continues to shine through Day Into Night. The instrumental drops you right into, what could quite be, the best track Quo Vadis has written to date, in "On the Shores of Ithaka". This song is a complete package; blinding fury of colossal riffage, plenty of smooth changes in tempo, massive hooks, and a guitar solo from Frydrychowicz capable of making your face melt. It then subsides into the 30 second instrumental "Night of the Roses", that gives off a very strong Oriental vibe, effectively ending the 7+ minute epic. The album closes out with another smooth rock-based track in "I Believe", akin to the likes of "Hunter/Killer" and "Let it Burn", and I would have to say is my least favourite on the album, due to the fact that it really just sounds like a continuation of those aforementioned two tracks. Not to lose steam, however, as the album finishes off with two, darker, more sombre tracks in the two part composition "Point of no Return" ("Mute Requiem" and "Candences of Absonance", respectively). The former starts at a blistering pace with the duel guitars and more magnificent work from Bercier, before dropping into a melancholic tone and progressing into a beautifully executed closer accompanied with Frydrychowicz's agonizing screams that put the icing on this deliciously lurid two piece closer.

Overall, the flaws on this album are few and far between. The only one being the vocals, which could've still used a bit of an overhaul, but nonetheless there was still a substantial improvement in that department from the last album. If you're looking for something within the genre that's accessible, while still well written and contains that extra technical flare, look no further than Day Into Night. This album delivers all you can expect from tech/melo death band; 52 minutes of vigorous riffing chalked full of masterful solo work, a bone crunching bassline, and massive plethora of interchaging drumming patterns that never goes stagnant. Most melodeath during this era was beginning to fall off into the uncreative bore that it became bloated with for the next decade. Quo Vadis took the four year break to refine their style and avoid falling into the melting pot.

93/100

Originally posted on Metal-Archives, September 25th, 2013

Quo Vadis - Forever...

Killed by ghetto 90's Québécois production

The mid 90's was a major growing period for Québec's extreme metal community. Sprouting from this vast region of Canadian soil were future big name bands of the tech death genre, including the likes of Cryptopsy, Neuraxis, Martyr, and more bizarre acts, such as Gorguts. Quo Vadis were no exception. Since their inception into the scene in 1993 they have released a trilogy of full-lengths, on top of a demo, compilation, and two live releases. Playing a rather sublime brand a technical death metal (this album in particular being their most experimental) with a melodic flare, akin to Neuraxis' early days, Quo Vadis' Forever... became a highly acclaimed, favourite amongst its growing group of followers at the time. Despite being overshadowed by later output, this particular album will remain as a pioneer that helped shape Québec's tech death scene, and pave the way for future releases. 

Upon first listen, in fact the first 10 seconds of the opening track, I noticed what was potentially the biggest scratch across the surface of this gem. The production. Now, while my title may be a bit of an exaggeration, this was the album's most critical flaw. I mean there must have been at least somewhat of a better alternative, even for the mid 90's. Being particularly bothersome on higher-octane tracks such as "Legions of the Betrayed" and "Pantheon of Tears" where the pounding drumming in its entirety and backing guitars (?) just sort of get lumped in with one another on one side creating a cluster fuck of madness, and not in a good way. The bass drum overpowers all with the rough cymbal sound while the snare on top of everything else on the set just seems to get lost in the mix. While on the other hand, lighter, acoustic based tracks didn't quite suffer the same fate as their counterparts obviously due to the lack of the "lumpy" bass drums. While not a gamebreaker for the album itself, this god awful production job left much to be desired. 

Now, as for the music itself, I would lie if I said I wasn't impressed. Once you get passed the production it's easy to tell that these guys aren't anything short of talented, in both the songwriting and the instrumental departments. Led by a couple handily apt guitarists in Arie Itman and Bart Frydrychowicz, rock solid work from bassist Remy Beauchamp, and seasoned drummer Yanic Bercier, who's immense talent is probably better represented on later releases. This overall solid crew of virtuoso's assisted in making up for the lackluster vocals, delivered courtesy the aforementioned Itman and Frydrychowicz. I wouldn't exactly describe the vocal style as awful, just very bland and stagnant. Even when they try to deliver something a little more lively and with more emotion, like on "Pantheon of Tears". Or spice it up with experimentation with different styles, like on "Inner Capsule" with Bart utilizing the hardcore-esque shouts, it just didn't seem to work. Especially on the latter which sounded like the band just going for a crap shoot with those vocals. A good example of when experimentation doesn't pan out. More obvious indications of experimentation came along with a couple spoken word tracks, "Mystery" and "Nocturnal Reflections" respectively, that turned out really well and complimented the album's sombre vibe and creating a mystifying atmosphere (no pun intended). Unfortunately both led into some fairly lame, poorly executed tracks, that while with good intentions, were just unnecessary. The closer, "Sans Abris" especially, which was bogged down by the cringeworthy female vocals, despite being a great atmospheric track. While experimentation may not have been Forever...'s strongpoint, it certainly showed that the band had balls and weren't afraid to incorporate different elements of music ranging from classical to acoustics. 

It was with the death metal itself, where these guys garnered their reputation for their sublime style, composed of intricate song structures, inter-changing riffs with that overlaying melodic tone, and plenty of tempo changes throughout. This, capped off by their ability to write evolving songs while still maintaining a baseline that doesn't go off into self-indulgent shit that a good portion of tech death was plagued by in years to come. Songs like "Legions of the Betrayed" and "Pantheon of Tears" shine through the muddy production and flat vocals with some excellent riffwork, reminiscent of a faster paced At the Gates and mid to later era Death. This complete with multiple tempo changes, beautifully executed solos, and a slick bass line. Complimenting this are more thrashier compositions such as "Carpae Deum" and "Zero Hour" which are played at a swift pace with some tight, more straightforward riffs. The former being closed out with a violin number, more indication of the classical influence I mentioned earlier. The demonstration of the band's flexibility with tempo changes is capped off by more slower paced tracks, like the graceful, acoustic based piece, "As I Feed the Flames of Hate", which features more classical elements. Or the more progressive instrumental, "The Day the Universe Changed". Both contain gradual build ups that explode into a supernova of melodic riffing and yet again, a standout bass line, that plays more of a leading role than a support role. All rounded off by Bercier's tight, creative style.

All in all, this is definitely a solid release once you get passed the grimy production. Hell, despite my preference for the old-school style, this is one of the few that I would've loved to see a re-release for. Quite obvious that it was the albums biggest anchor, and I know quite a few would agree. Underneath the dust is a quality piece of tech death with a sense of melody, good enough to appease the masses of both sides. While not up to par with future releases, it was definitely a step in the right direction and a sign of great potential. Despite being outshined by other releases at the time and its flaws, this album was still a pioneer for the scene. Although one might want to give a listen to their later work first, Forever... is still a quality concoction of death metal with a variety of influences that deserves some attention.

70/100

Originally posted on Metal-Archives, September 25th, 2012