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7.5
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- Available from: 01/09/2026
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Dusktone
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Born in 2009 as Encrypted, a name they had to change six years later for legal reasons, the Finns Denominate have so far produced the good debut EP “Realms Of Confusion” and two albums, “Those Who Beheld The End” in 2016 and “Isochron” in 2020, highlighting a continuous evolution in the search for a personal formula.
Another long break and the quintet, whose lineup has remained unchanged since its foundation, reaches the publication of their third album, “Restoration”, the first release for Duskstone, which confirms further growth on a compositional and executive level.
That of the Scandinavians is a progressive death metal that manages to optimally balance an above-average instrumental technique with the impact that the musical style requires, for a handful of medium-long and complex pieces which, despite having solid points of reference in the past and present, are not lacking in terms of personality: to frame the proposal, we can place Denominate in that vein of bands such as Rivers Of Nihil and Black Crown Initiate or, going further back in time, Ne Obliviscaris, which attempt to provide a modern interpretation of the genre through the introduction of external elements.
The most brutal passages are compensated by atmospheric moments, with several excursions into melodic territories and a marked use of the clean voice alongside the growl: a mixture that works especially when the quintet decides to take a risk and, even if the intensity remains high even in those couple of more canonical episodes, the peak is reached with the doom/death metal mood of “The Cistern”, the acoustic arpeggios of “Restoration”, the Gojira-like riffing of “The Loathe Process” and the elaborate textures of “Liminal”, embellished with a flamenco phrasing reminiscent of the work of Jeff Loomis of Nevermore in “Deconstruction”.
The growth of Denominate is evident and with “Restoration” the Nordics show off not only an important technical background but also a maturity that can be understood from a meticulous composition, attention to detail and appropriate production: the impression is that there is still unexpressed potential and a margin for improvement capable of taking us even further.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
