Junius - Reports From The Threshold of Death

Part of the growing movement of hybridizing goth rock and metalcore, Junius makes an interesting offering.There's an interesting trend in the hard rock/heavy metal world that's skewing more melodic, beyond the hummable melodies that are mixed in with the usual wall of sound.  It's a hybrid of the spacey rhythms of pop-goth acts with the more energetic tones of modern metal.  Imagine a scenario: it's 1989 and Metallica finishes their set on the "...And Justice For All" tour, leaves the stage, only to have The Cure walk on and play the same setlist using the same setup.  Now you may be getting the idea of what I'm talking about.

Junius is another new fangled metal act out of Boston that's got a different idea of what heavy music should sound like.  They're not full on metal, but they're not simple pop either.  They refer to themselves as dark rock despite the fact that their new album, Reports From The Threshold of Death, isn't particularly negative considering its subject matter. This is apparently their sophomore effort, but having never heard of them, I can't say how it compares as a follow up to their debut, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist (yeah, they're all about those enigmatic titles), but they've been described as Neurosis meets The Smiths. 

The wall of sound these Bostonians create is dense but never harsh, such that when paired with [lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist, Joe] Martinez' wailing vocals, you feel like you're riding waves rather than them crashing over you. Interestingly, there's a nice touch of Vangelis to Joe's synths, giving to the overall mix the effect of different ages of music (80s versus the 2000s) as well as different genres.  It's an onion band, lots of layers going on here, and I really dig it.

The Bottom Line: Taking the genres of goth rock and metalcore into strange new hybrids, Junius is a band to be watched, especially if you're a fan of bands like Opeth or Canvas Solaris.

Tracks to light your black and red candles to: Betray the Grave, A Universe Without Stars, The Meeting of Pasts and Eidolon & Perispirit

- Genghis is looking forward to more from this group...