(c) Steven Grise
With just one single and one EP earned Upon Stone a deal with Century Media. The quartet from San Fernando Valley, California, which was only founded in 2021, must have done pretty much everything right early on and is now releasing a complete album. Musically, the band is dedicated to the roots of Scandinavian melodic death metal sounds, including some unpolished to rough production to create the necessary underground feeling. „Dead Mother Moon“ is following in big footsteps and doing well.
“To Seek And Follow The Call Of Lions” is one of those tracks that has already been self-released. Once you get used to the somewhat raw sound with overly loud drums and scaled back bass, the action is incredibly fun. The four minutes move in classic death metal territory and allow melodies to flow in slowly while the powerful production entertains. This also applies to the opening title song “Dead Mother Moon”, whose quirky force tears everything down before almost anthemic passages creep in – on a clear level, of course, but in combination with the shrill mini-solo, enough to burn into your memory.
Upon Stone welcomes a prominent guest for “Paradise Failed”: US metalcore and melodic death icon Brian Fair (including Shadows Fall, Overcast, Death Ray Vision) makes an appearance in these three and a half minutes. The fact that this is pretty much the most melodic, modern track on the entire album fits the bill. Fair does its job well as usual, the thing is at least as impressive as the fat, uncompromising sprint “Onyx Through The Heart”. Disguised Blackened Death borrowings collide with more catchy approaches and Gothenburg primordial soup – simple but damn clever.
The Californians are not reinventing the Norse-deadly wheel, but they certainly had no intention of doing so. Yes, their melodic death approach sounds old-fashioned. Yes, the production stubbornly sticks to old-school demo territory. Nevertheless, “Dead Mother Moon” is a success because the songs are convincing across the board, from the titular opener to the snappy Misfits cover “Dig Up Her Bones”. In a nutshell, Upon Stone is filled with breakneck madness with catchy undertones and offers high entertainment value. It can sometimes be that simple.
Rating: 8/10
Available from: January 19, 2024
Available via: Century Media (Sony Music)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/p/Upon-Stone-100094619201907
Category: Magazin, Reviews