AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Veriteras – The Dark Horizon
By Dolphin Whisperer
“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.”
Founded in 2018, Veriteras has a very simple mission, to produce melodeath! Hailing from the renowned hot bed of heavy, Seattle, Washington, these Scandinavian-inspired songsmiths offer their sophomore outing with the same energy from which they initially debuted—that’s to say, mostly, that there’s little in the way of frills here. But with a guest tambourine performance and production courtesy of the fabled Dan Swanö (formerly of Edge of Sanity and so much more), is there more to The Dark Horizon than meets the eye? Travel to the edge with our brave rodeö staffers and find out! – Dolphin Whisperer
Veriteras // The Dark Horizon [April 11th, 2024]
Steel Druhm: Seattle-based symphonic melodeath act Veriteras are really inspired by classic Scandinavian melodeath, especially the stuff that was released in the aughts. On their sophomore outing The Dark Horizon you’ll hear tons of influences from Kalmah, Wintersun, and Norther leaking into their energetic output. The good news is that Veriteras execute the style well, delivering high-octane cuts that sound like they’re from a different era. The bad news is the material sounds like it’s from a now stale era you’ve heard a million times. That doesn’t necessarily ruin the good times though. Tracks like opener “Certainty” blast forth like prime Kalmah with riffs flying, drums thundering, and keyboards blaring. It’s a formula that worked in 2002 and still kinda works. The best cuts either bowl you over with hyper-kinetic thrash polka (“Celestial Darkness, “Manufactured Dreams”) or soar into the night skies with epic blackened majesty à la Wintersun (“Blinding”). “Blinding” in particular is surprisingly sticky, glorious, and regal. The fact that all the songs sit in the two-to-four minute pocket while the album runs an anorexic thirty-one minutes adds to the high-speed sugar rush. The guitar work is classy, the vocals have ample bite, and the keyboards are overweening and cheese-coated. A lovely production courtesy of Dan “the fucking MAN” Swanö doesn’t hurt none either. You won’t hear anything new here, but Veriteras dish up a nostalgic blast of catchy ear-cheese with polish and pomp aplenty. Since we likely won’t be getting Time II until the very end of time, this can fill the Wintersun void some folks have in their wretched lives. 3.0/5.0
Doom et Al: Ah, melodeath. A tough sub-genre because everyone has their own idea about how much “melo” and how much “death” constitutes the ideal balance for a band. If you’re on the “I like things on the melodic end of the spectrum—gimme that Jester Race goodness!” then Seattle based band, Veriteras, and their sophomore full-length, The Dark Horizon, should be right up your alley. Delivering some old-school, hyper-melodic melodeath, this is an impressive showing, managing to sound catchy and epic without the tendency to slip into a power metal cheese vat. At its best, the album reminds us why those early melodeath bands were so popular—it’s fun, energetic and never loses momentum. Stand-outs include the jaunty “Sanctuary,” the rollickin’ “Manufactured Dreams” and my personal favorite, “Blinding.” Criticisms include a slightly monotone vocal performance, a crushed production I don’t love, and perhaps an over-reliance on an existing aesthetic. Nevertheless, this is a grand ole time and some of the more entertaining melodeath I’ve heard this year. A band with huge potential. 3.0/5.0
Dear Hollow: I’m not much of a Kalmah dweeb and I’m not the biggest melodeath fan, but the likes of Wintersun,1 In Mourning and Eternal Storm have cemented themselves into the hall of Hollow. Likewise, Veriteras creates a tasty blend of infectious earworms against a backdrop of crunchy rhythms that brings the emotion and warfare in equal measure. Rock-solid writing that puts melody first and all else second is a smart move for this, as tracks like “Certainty,” “Abyss,” and “Blinding” deal in traditional Dark Tranquillity blends of melodic runs tinged with Gothenburg sensibilities, while “Celestial Darkness” embraces the folky 6/8 waltz of Elvenking. The one-two punch of “Sanctuary” and “Manufactured Dreams” contains the most memorable riffs and absolutely infectious melodies that linger like a fever you don’t want rid of. While the vast majority of The Dark Horizon offers bulletproof melodeath, “Last Rites” and “Retrograde” fall short with frailer melodies that don’t stick, while the folky proceedings of “Celestial Darkness” are an island unto itself—all wrapped up in a production that feels a tad paper-thin and muddled (i.e. the chugs of “Light in the Darkness” feel too weak). Overall, Veriteras is fun as hell, offering melodic ear candy aplenty that’ll rot your earteeth2 if you’re not careful. 2.5/5.0
Felagund: Rightly or wrongly, I’ve grown to view most anything labeled “melodic death metal” with suspicion. While it used to be a go-to genre tag, I’ve been burned too many times by “melodeath” bands that are less At the Gates and more watered-down, uninspired metalcore boasting a few clean choruses. Thankfully, Veriteras doesn’t fall into that trap on this second full-length The Dark Horizon. They’ve delivered a solid platter, one with plenty of melodeath heft, with some blackened shrieks and symphonic elements for good measure. The Dark Horizon is indeed a satisfactory sophomore effort. Things fall flat for me, however, when the band begins to lean so heavily into the “melodic” part of “melodic death metal” that they break on through to the power metal side. I noted a faint whiff of cheese on “Celestial Darkness,” but it becomes a noticeable dairy deluge on the ironically-titled, happy-time tune “Abyss,” “Last Rights” with its power metal cleans, and “Manufactured Dreams,” which sounds like the soundtrack to your very own seafaring quest. These choices don’t make for a bad album, but it’s certainly not what I’m looking for in my narrow-minded view of modern day melodeath. I’m sure there are any number of Fellowship fans who will read this blurb and question if I actually know what power metal is. But there are various kinds of cheese, and they all don’t have to be Limburger to qualify. I’ll keep the tremelo, the chugging riffs, and the blackened vocals, but next time, I think I’ll order my Veriteras without the side of melo-mozzarella. 2.5/5.0
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