Miscreance – Reminiscence Album Review

When Miscreance first emerged, they imitated the old-school Death-inspired death metal sound. While this helped them capture many fans, Miscreance was still a young band trying to find their sound. It only took them one more album to hone in on their authentic style.

Reminescence has all of Miscreance’s previous qualities: technical playing, thrashy speed, and heavy songs. But this album also introduces more experimental elements, even adding in instruments we don’t hear much in metal, such as the didgeridoo and berimbau. The album’s concept evokes a lost moment in human history, and its otherworldly sound matches the lyrical themes.

The most standout feature of this album is the experimental influences. Leo di Angilla performed various percussion instruments, including the didgeridoo, berimbau, and flute. We first hear these influences in the first song, “Trait d’Union.” It opens with a Cynic-style riff and tribal-sounding percussion before the riffs and drums hit you like a whirlwind. From here, this song takes you on a journey: the crunchy parts turn into straight brutality, and the insane guitar solos carry you throughout the rest of the song. The demonic voice and clean vocals also create a unique dynamic, setting the stage for the rest of the album.

“Vision” explodes into a cacophony of madness. Miscreance unleashes their thrashiest side with Obliveon-esque riffs, crunchy bass lines, and rapid drumming. Andrea Feltrin’s vocals kick in, taking this song to another planet. Once the chorus comes, the riffs become otherworldly, with only Feltrin chanting “Vision!” Unlike other metal bands, Miscreance doesn’t use clean vocals as a way to add more melody. The clean vocals sound more like chants, and in this song, they mesh with the growls.

While there’s a lot of experimentation with Reminiscence, “Synaptic Cortex Dissection” takes us back to the Convergence album, and Miscreance lays down their classic death/thrash influences. But with this song, Miscreance adds spacey riffs, giving the track an otherworldly feel.

“Oracle’s Rift” captures Miscreance’s maturity. We get the same thrashy riffs and death growls, but with enough progressive time signatures to keep the song flowing in different directions. The listener is always anticipating where the song will go, and every part is unpredictable. This song finishes with tribal drums and slowly fades out.

This album ends with “Mirage.” More Cynic-esque riffs open up to one of the craziest songs on the album. This track has by far the fastest drums and guitar solos, and the effects still keep you deep into space among the insanity. This song is largely instrumental, with Feltrin’s signature growl only coming in briefly toward the end. The track ends with a soft guitar outro, similar to the end of Death’s Symbolic album.

With Reminiscence, Miscreance combines their classic death/thrash sound and adds more experimental and tribal influences. As a whole, this album captures Miscreance’s maturity, and we’re starting to see their authentic sound take shape. I can’t wait to see what more this band will produce in the future.

Rating: 10/10

Pre-order Reminiscence here.