Band:	March Of Scylla
Album:	Andromeda
Style:	Post-metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	March 07, 2025
A review by:	musclassia

01. Ulysses'Lies
02. Death Experience
03. The Royal Way
04. To Cassiopeia
05. Dark Matter
06. Storm Dancer
07. BlaAst
08. Achilles'choice
09. Myrrha
10. Cosmogony

After Kozoria, Gargantura and Septaria, there’s another new proggy French metal band with a name ending with ‘a’ and a degree of resemblance to Gojira; however, March Of Scylla stand somewhat apart from the other groups, and not just because there’s more than one word in their name.

I think I’m sufficiently devoted to Pelagic Records by this point that I can recognize bands who might make sense on their roster; it didn’t surprise me when the label started distributing Pull Down The Sun’s debut Of Valleys And Mountains, nor when Pothamus appeared on the label in time for this year’s Abur. While they're not yet at the right stage of their journey, as a proggy band with post-metal hints, it wouldn’t shock me if March Of Scylla eventually joined the Pelagic ranks.

Pull Down The Sun feel like an appropriate band to namedrop in this review, as two of the primary influences I noted when reviewing Of Valleys And Mountains were Gojira and The Ocean, and they’re both bands that come to mind when listening to debut record Andromeda. The riff style across the album regularly employs a thick, low-end groovy chugging approach, and when tremolo is also brought into the equation, such as in the opening moments of “Storm Dancer”, a resemblance to some Gojira riffs is detectable. However, the prog-lite compositions, melodic guitar hints and roared/sung vocal exchanges on songs such as “Dark Matter” have a touch of The Ocean to them.

There are other elements at play across Andromeda, however; some of the riffing, particularly on “Myrrha”, brings djent into the equation, and overall there’s a dash of metalcore in the album’s song structuring and vocal contrasts as well. Tonal similarities I’ve picked up on while listening to the album include a moderate resemblance between Florian Vasseur’s clean singing voice and that of Pasi Koskinen from his Amorphis days; instrumentally, this band doesn’t sound like Amorphis, but there’s something about the melodic guitar choices and surrounding synth-scapes during “Storm Dancer” that soars in a similar manner to comparable moments on Persefone’s Spiritual Migration.

Above any of these acts, though, the guitar texturing across the record does really remind me of material on that Pull Down The Sun album; there’s a real warmth to the instrumental layering across the album, making softer verses and other passages rich while brightening up the heavier sequences. March Of Scylla are in a good spot with how effectively they balance heavy groove with catchy accessibility in a manner that also offers depth beyond the surface-level charm. The vocals admittedly aren’t flawless across Andromeda, with notes every so often that sound a tad off-pitch, but when Vasseur nails phrases such as those in the chorus of “Ulysses’ Lies”, everything comes together very nicely.

It's a consistently likeable album throughout, but there are a few songs that make a special impact. “Storm Dancer” has already been namedropped a couple of times, and the stirring resonance of its melodic emotions makes a definite impact. That track opens and closes with a rapid-fire riff groove; “Dark Matter” features a different approach, going slow and heavy pretty much throughout, and really grinding things down to a weighty crawl at times. Later on, “Myrrha” impresses with its bruising density that is deftly contrasted with warm, welcoming guitar lead motifs, while the driving intensity of the opening to “Achilles’ Choice” is something I wouldn’t have minded hearing even more often.

Beyond the rough edges to the vocals, there’s still also scope for improvement in terms of flow within songs (“Achilles’ Choice” feels like a bit of a cop out when that initially rampant opening gives way to yet another mid-tempo groove) and increased memorability. That said, Andromeda is an album I’ve enjoyed a fair bit, and it offers a solid platform from which to refine their sound and create something even more striking.