Italy’s Faust brought in the big dogs for the recording of From Glory to Infinity. Luckily, the musical aspects of said disc far exceed the visual ones (i.e. the cartoon cover of the amply bosomed nun). Feast your eyes on this lineup and you will understand why the musicianship on the album is top notch: Vocalist/guitarist Aleister (Ancient), bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Testament, Autopsy, Sadus, Death, Iced Earth, etc.), drummer Darek “Daray” Brzozowski (Dimmu Borgir, Vader, Vesania), guitarist Luca Princiotta (Doro, Blaze Bayley, Clairvoyants), and guitarist Ghiulz (Profantum, Obscurity). Not too shabby, eh?

So you figured it is a good bet that the playing on From Glory to Infinity does not suck. You figured right. But what about the songwriting? It is better than average and if one views this more as a series of melodic death metal instrumentals that just happen to include growls with indistinct patterns then you are less apt to be disappointed. That probably sounds worse than it was meant. The point is that these compositions are rife with soaring melodic leads, triumphant galloping rhythms that at times border on trad-metal, the sinewy bass lines of DiGiorgio, and beautiful sections of acoustic layers underneath breathtaking leads. Being so smitten with the instrumentation makes the vocals seem like an afterthought, which is not so much a criticism of the throat-work (it is like a mid-range, throatier Luc Lemay), as a recognition of the compositional acumen involved. “Wet Veils” and the aptly titled “Carnal Beatitude” are two shining examples. The main melody of “Golden Wine Countess” is noteworthy as well. It is worth mentioning again that DiGiorgio’s playing throughout is fantastic.

In fact, each cut is a dazzling display of brilliant musicianship and melodic sensibility. Even with those high compliments, the album becomes marginally redundant after a while and not quite as memorable as it could be. These are minor criticism though, as From Glory to Infinity is a fine work that does not sound quite like anything else out there right now, the occasional (vague) nods to melodic tech-death acts like Gorod and Anata notwithstanding. Definitely worth checking out.

[Visit the band's website]

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