SOULMASS - Principality of Mechanical Violence (Review)

Written by: The Administrator

No time for a superfluous introduction. Here is a collection of things I love about Principality of Mechanical Violence, the latest album from death metal duo Soulmass. Let us begin.

Firstly, I love the album artwork. I am inclined to judge a book by its cover, and the case of this gorgeous piece by Samuel Nelson, I was immediately struck by the evocative palette and setting. Here, Samuel has captured a moment in time so articulately as the moon rises over a prone gundam. This is the gloaming; the moment where dusk becomes night. I generally adore heavy usage of pinks and purples, and the color of the logo is warm and wonderful, full stop. The color scheme in general feels quite unique in the world of death metal, and stands out from the crowd.  It is by far one of the best covers I've seen this year.

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I love the departure and evolution in sound that this album represents for the band. Over the years, they have slowly shed the more morose elements of the initial death/doom genre affiliation, with 2023's Let Us Pray showing hints of a shift into more straightforward deathy territory. The following Selling Rubicon by the Pound EP drove the point home, and on Principality of Mechanical Violence, Soulmass wholeheartedly embrace speed and a cutthroat ferocity. I'm really enjoying this high-octane drive and sense of urgency. The drum programming is fast and vicious, providing a crisp mechanicality that fits the mobile suit theme quite well. The entire album feels tight and precisely manufactured, and I feel like a lot of that has to do with the militantly crisp snare sound. 

I love the breakneck energy. Out of the gate, the riffs pummel and rage with an intensity that is inherently exciting to listen to. Opener "Jet Stream Attack," embedded below, exists in a death metal space I would classify as both "frantic" and "furious." Of course some vestiges of the past remain--check out the lengthy "At the Bottom of the Gravity Well" or the more moody "Living Dead Division," which vaguely resembles Gatecreeper's most lumbering moments--but the primary takeaway is speed and bombast. Indeed, some tracks feel like they've fully and completely embraced a full sense of thrashy wild abandon. "Victory Is Mine," for example, absolutely rips. Whether or not this literal change of pace is permanent remains to be seen, but even as a stalwart lover of doomier death, I'd be very happy to hear more of Soulmass at their most outwardly pummeling and pugilistic.

A continuation of the last point, but to reiterate: I love the riffs on this project. Good lord I love the riffs. Principality of Mechanical Violence is positively crammed to the brim--overstuffed, even--with the kind high-urgency death metal riffs that burn bright and inevitably demand a physical response from the listener. Pick any track here and I guarantee that it is a prime showcase of rousing and energetic riffage. Hype music for a riff-worshiping crowd. Nearly every track begins with an absolute barn-burner before settling into itself, and the guitar is relentless in a fashion I associate with a band like Bolt Thrower. I love, however, how nothing ever feels stale--Brett Windnagle knows how to keep things moving without settling too comfortably into a firm motif. Even within the confines of a single track, there is always another riff. And then another. And another. And so on.

But instrumentation aside, Soulmass is not Soulmass without Lux Edwards' utterly massive vocals, and their performance on this release is a slam dunk in the presence department. Lux is a supremely effective vocalist when it comes to creating a glowering and monolithic atmosphere, and I love how well that presence balances the freneticism of the guitars. As just one example of many, check out the thunderous roar on "Colony Drop" asserting that you can not, indeed, stop the colony drop. That shit is gargantuan. The track is short, but the sheer scale feels planetary due in large part to the vocal bombardment. If you're looking for another strong example, I love the slower rumbling bellows on the following track "Nothing Left."
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​And lastly, I love that I can rely on to Soulmass to consistently drop death metal of the highest caliber. Their output doesn't merely satisfy a release day craving--rather, it tends to stick with me for the extended long term (hence the very late publication of this review.) Last year I revisited Let Us Pray quite frequently, and since release, Principality of Mechanical Violence has similarly become the default album when I crave some death metal action. That's the kind of staying power that truly elevates a release, and it is a quality that seems increasingly intrinsic to Soulmass as a band.

I truly love this album. In case it still needs to be said, Principality of Mechanical Violence of comes highly recommended.

Soulmass - Principality of Mechanical Violence was released February 2nd, 2024. Find it here!

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Soulmass can be found:
Bandcamp