REALITY GREY - Beneath This Crown

REALITY GREY

Album: Beneath This Crown

Genre: Groove / Melodeath Metal

Release Date: May 7th, 2021

Country: Italy

Label: Blood Blast Distribution (powered by Nuclear Blast)

Band Links: BANDCAMP / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK

Formed in 2004 by guitarist, composer and producer Anto Addabbo, REALITY GREY from Italy can already look back at lots of touring alongside acts like Deicide, Unearth or Municipal Waste, as well as the release of one EP and two LP’s. “Beneath This Crown” is their third full-length album (out since May 7 th, 2021). The cover artwork looks dark, explosive, with a kind of Sci-Fi vibe, and gives a good impression of what to expect from “Beneath This Crown”. Lyric-wise, each song is a stand-alone story, dealing with different social and personal problems.

After an orchestral intro with an Orwellian-like speech, “Fade in Fear” kicks in with full force. The rhythm section does an incredible job from the beginning to push the songs forward, but is still varied enough to keep the music interesting. The bass delivers a fat sound, so do the drums, and together, they build up an immense pressure. The aggressive, yet groovy riffs force that even more, and REALITY GREY hold this power throughout the whole album. Besides these high-energetic song-structures, the melodic, sophisticated guitar solos are a real highlight for me. Mainly screamed vocals, alternating with clean singing and some growls are their weapon of choice to express the anger of the lyrics.

“Multidimensional Hollow” might be the most progressive song on "Beneath This Crown" and is one of my favorites here. Lyrically, it is about the struggle to succeed in life, as things don’t always go like you hope they will, and not everyone knows how to cope with failure. Musically, it offers several twists and turns, and an awesome guitar solo. “Dreaming” features Milly Florio from End of Skyline, with her bright voice building an amazing contrast to the dark music. “The Void” leans more into the metalcore direction, and I have some issues with the vocals here, but this opening riff is incredibly groovy.

REALITY GREY wander between metalcore, groove, melodeath, and progmetal. By melting high technical skills with aggressive, yet accessible song-structures, they add an impressive piece to their discography. The great production deserves a good sound system for the full listening experience. What turns things a bit down for me are the mainly screamed vocals, as I like that as a stylistic element, but not most of the time. Being aware that this is a personal preference, I guess that fans of this vocal style will appreciate them. The mind blowing rhythmic gives the music the needed pressure. What stands out is the guitar playing, the hard-hitting riffs as well as the mesmerizing solo parts. All-together, “Beneath This Crown” is a beast of an album, and I can imagine what a blast this could be in a live setting.

Written by Katha