MAJESTIES - Vast Reaches Unclaimed (Review)

Written by: Blackie Skulless

Seldom will you find me crossing paths with something tagged “melodic death metal” and have so many nice things to say, save for a few very specific bands, but the year of our lord 2023 managed to break this trend. Majesties are a U.S. band based in Minnesota that seemingly came out of nowhere, with no demos, singles, or anything to precede their first and only full-length. Yet, they managed to catch the attention of 20 Buck Spin, which is always a good sign. The lone record’s title is Vast Reaches Unclaimed, and it certainly did reach far to claim some atypical greatness.

Wasting no time, Majesties jumps right to the punches, swiftly delivering its ten tracks in less than forty minutes with no unnecessary bells and whistles. The “melodic” descriptor often refers to a guitar tone and not actual melody, but I would argue that such a mold is broken here. Under harsh, borderline blackened shrieks lies a healthy blend of soothing leads and evident emotion, paired with harsh rhythms that don’t come off corny. Much of that is likely due to the noisy gradient, preventing any generic metalcore-isms, with constant trade-offs between tougher leads.

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This constant shift-and-return in mood is really what makes Vast Reaches Unclaimed stand above its peers so much, considering it never steps out of the general vibe. Songs like “The World Unseen” even sneak in pummeling drums that match unfriendly riff deliveries, baked-in nicely between the melodic solos. Frankly, the lead guitar work might be what carries most of this, as the production allows the solos and bridges to jump above the crushing surface quite often, holding the best parts of each song. “Seekers Of The Ineffable” does an incredible job of mixing crushing drive with fret-happy noodling, and “Temporal Anchor” has some of the meanest blasts on the whole tape. To the opposite end, the soft licks in “Our Gracious Captors” and the closing guitar work in opener “In Yearning Alive” could even be described as pretty.
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​Some genres are tough to mess up, but lack the needed hook that makes much of it stand out. Others are tough to get right, but go very hard when they hit that target. This is easily a case of the latter, and the fact that I struggle to find bands to compare it to is a good thing. A close match might be early Children Of Bodom, but even their heaviest work doesn’t quite pull the weight that this does. I’m going to have to just give you a “trust me bro” for this one.

​Majesties - Vast Reaches Unclaimed was released March 3rd, 2023 via 20 Buck Spin. Find it here!

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Majesties can be found at Bandcamp
Cover art by Juanjo Castellano