Dissension - Of Time And Chronic Disease

Tracklist:

1. Thralls Of The Crucified

2. Graceless Death

3. Blacksteel

4. Brutality

5. Set To Kill

6. Legacy

7. Dreamsong Of The Divine

8. Of Time And Chronic Disease

9. Dissention

10. Apotheosis

The march continues and I'm actually on schedule! That's right, my need to remain semi-organised has meant a readjustment of my posting schedule. I've got loads of new stuff on the way soon, but for now I wanted to write about a band that hasn't appeared on this blog before. Canadian melodic death/thrash band Dissension started in 2007 as Set To Kill, releasing one demo called Dawn Of Despair. In 2011, they changed their name and went onto release an EP that same year. By Time And Chronic Disease was released two-years later and remains their most recent recorded output. These guys have had their set backs (through no fault of their own) in recent years, but are now moving on and up, so here's hoping this review gets a few more people on their side!

So you decide to start a band, you choose extreme metal as your genre, you write and release music and start playing live. Then once you’ve built up a bit of a following and you’ve released more music, you start to look for more exposure from further afield. Seems simple enough, except there are always things that get in your way and spoil your momentum. Dissension know this only too well and without going into specifics, they’re at the point where they want to draw a line under it and move on, which shows great determination. On the strength of their performance on Of Time And Chronic Disease, they are absolutely right to do that. Their melodic death metal and thrash should be propelling them into more people’s ears and music collections. Straight from the off on Thralls Of The Crucified, they show how talented and musically adept they are. There are heavy riffs, atmospheric keys and screaming solos all present. Dissension have chosen a modern-path and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. Don’t worry though, over-produced and manufactured this is not. Graceless Death comes complete with disgustingly old-school death vox and a thrashing urgency, proving they’re as comfortable raging as they are with their progressive side. There’s power-metal catchiness to Blacksteel straight from the off, thanks to some great guitar work. Dissension continue to build momentum, injecting their music with plenty of clever melodic touches and real tempo. On the aptly titled Brutality, Dissension mix their up-tempo gallop with more progression. The keys are more prominent in places and I can see their sound coming across really well live. While researching Dissension, I read that they’ve shared the stage with Threat Signal in the past. I would have loved to have been at that gig! Set To Kill seems like it’s a nod to their previous incarnation. It’s also another catchy death-filled anthem. I think I’ve mentioned it above, but this band’s catchiness is one of their endearing qualities and it sets them apart from a lot of their peers. The acoustic guitar at the beginning of Legacy lures you into a false sense of security, but the foot is still firmly planted on the gas. Prior to the final trio of songs, there’s a moody interlude called Dreamsong Of The Divine, which is full of orchestral might. it leads nicely into the title-track, which is also where Dissension hit their majestic stride. It feels like their most focused effort, even with the power-metal affectations at it’s core. it’s definitely a song that needs to be listened to and not just slapped on in the background. Things get weirdly industrial on Dissention, but there’s no problem with being danceable is there? This song takes things back down a more urgent path, which isn’t a bad way to finish things. It’s left to album closer Apotheosis to hammer their melodic death home and to finish an album of assured, quality heavy music. Dissension are definitely deserving of more attention!

Stream Of Time And Chronic Disease here:-

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