Originally written by Erik Thomas
Originally self released back in 2007, Singularity is the debut album (their demo is reviewed elsewhere on this site) of Virginia’s Adversary and while it does nothing wrong within the paradigms of modern American metal, it doesn’t really stand out either.
With riffs that groove and rumble with a mix of thrash and hardcore and a healthy dose of duel Gothenburg solos as well as vocals that range from feral screams to clean croons, the formula here is one perfected by the likes of Trivium, Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, Better Left Unsaid, Unearthand such. Granted, William Clapp has a very blackened (if forced) main scream that gives the metal a bit of an edge, but this is also offset by some bluesy clean vocals.
The chunky guitar tone and plethora of solos place this purely in the American metal category, no matter how vicious Clapp’s vocals are, and the thrash injection, is I imagine, due to the presence of bassist Daniel Tidwell from thrash revivalists Guillotine. The pacing of the material is relatively safe and predictable, if well executed, (especially for what is essentially a self release). However, many solo flourishes keep things relatively interesting as heard on the title track, the enjoyable opening canter of “In Vino Veritas,” “Manifest Humility” and “Dying Art” which all come across as very Oli Herbert/Mike Martin–ish (All That Remains) and show a firm grasp of dynamics and melody, if familiar. To change things up a bit there is the 6+ minute instrumental “Ashes of Faith” which give the ol’ fashioned lengthy Metallica-ish styled instrumental a go with solid results. But frankly when another 6+ minute track, closer “Wisdom In Regret” rolls by, I’m ready to move on.
There’s nothing remotely new or exiting on Singularity, but there’s nothing wrong with that, and personally, like the recent Antagonist and Better Left Unsaid albums, it’s actually better than All That Remains’ latest effort.
Solid.
