Band:	Cormorant
Album:	Earth Diver
Style:	Melodic death metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	April 08, 2014
A review by:	R'Vannith

01. Eris
02. Daughter Of Void
03. Sold As A Crow
04. Waking Sleep
05. The Pythia
06. Broken Circle
07. Mark The Trail
08. A Sovereign Act

Few bands have taken melodic death metal so far along a progressive route as Cormorant. These guys are an entirely independent group and their style is adventurous, downright impressive and unparalleled in individuality. Earth Diver is their third effort in a discographical success story, each time they've committed themselves to a release on their own terms they've put out astonishingly creative melodic metal. That is a guarantee which they continually assure.

Every new Cormorant album promises a fresh conglomeration of their sound, another multi-faceted mix of melodic death driven progressive metal pioneered by one of the most distinctive styles I've ever come across. With the line-up change in the loss of vocalist, bassist and lyricist Arthur von Nagel and his replacement by Marcus Luscombe can we expect a continuation of their high quality performance in the studio?

Earth Diver is a most definite yes to that question. I never doubted them for a second, although I did wonder whether the same melody rich and dynamically textured approach to song writing would continue to flow in the way they've always made it; I questioned whether they would continue to tap from the same inspirational spring that just never seemed to run dry for them in the past. Thankfully they do continue to tap their resources to create ambitious metal as always, but there are some changes involved for Earth Diver, as only to be expected I suppose. Things remain both consistent, as well as fresh.

It's honestly very impressive when a band can identify distinct aspects of their sound and focus their attention on them, so as to make them the driving force of a piece of music. This is a mark of artistic ingenuity, as much as it indicates in this case the control over the scope of the progressive patchwork which Cormorant have at their disposal; allowing for beneficial cherry picking of sub-generic facets. Doom and black metal have been selected this time as a directive in the song writing; and it shows generously, as the album benefits from a new and particular mood, a new feel as the band's purposeful change of approach comes to fruition.

The band stated as much, and the band delivered as much. What that tells me is that Cormorant have such a clear understanding of their own sound that they possess the ability to play around with it and make noticeable stylistic changes on a whim without ever erring the integrity of it all. Earth Diver is clear evidence of that.

That's all well and good, but what does it mean in execution, and what effect does it have on the style of this new album? Essentially it means that this is the most focused record they've yet released, and by focused I mean it's something with deliberate intentions. Despite the loss of Arthur and his creative forces in the band, they've pressed on with a goal, which is evident from the outcome. The incorporation of a Slough Feg-esque heavy metal seems to have been all but dropped, so some aspects to their widely ranging sound have been shed, or at least not as clearly highlighted. Track lengths remain long and sweeping providing scenic melodic experiences that never cease to be vivid. The range of sound within individual tunes alone is enough to blow the mind, but Cormorant manage this continually and consistently with each and every track.

Having said that, the mood of Earth Diver is generally downcast with its stronger doom undertones, especially in tracks like "Waking Sleep" or the eleven and a half minute closer "A Sovereign Act," which surely stands as one of the band's finest pieces of song writing. They always know how to finish up an album in spectacular fashion. While this album lacks some of the heavy metal playfulness of Dwellings or the thoroughly folky atmospheric luxuries of Metazoa, it is something of its own, and definitely their most extreme effort in terms of the increased black metal influence. This doesn't quite bring them to Enslaved levels of progressive black metal, but it's a noticeable enough change to their repertoire to distinguish this album from its predecessors. This time the folk vibe isn't quite as vibrant or dynamically represented as I would've hoped, but it does remain a crucial aspect to their style, although it's mostly buried within what is a more congealed and cohesive mix of influences in this album.

As usual the guitar work often carries with it a variable and unique kind of sludge-like texture, comparable to that employed by their fellow Americans, the equally adventurous and eccentric Giant Squid, who aided in some guest performance work back on Metazoa. This element has always lent a distinctive weight to their riffs and adds a particular character to them, which is only enhanced by the shared folk vibe, albeit in rather different stylistic contexts. Cormorant operate with melodic death at the heart of their widely encompassing sound, with all manner of influences coming into play in each of their fascinatingly original studio albums.

The line-up change certainly hasn't fazed the band's creativity one iota, and Earth Diver is another superb addition to Cormorant's continually expanding discography.