The Prisoner – Life of the Mind (2016)

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As one of the heaviest releases through Dooweet Records in the last few months, today we have Parisians The Prisoner and their sophomore release “Life of the Mind”. Clocking in at 62 minutes, this release perfectly blends aggressive Black Metal elements with Death Metal and Post-Metal influences. Creating a very unique and powerful wall of sound, this band is ready to captivate the listener with their sheer brutality and craftsmanship.

Opening with the catchy riffs of “Awake”, the band sets a very Doomy/Post-Metal mood just before they jump into some blistering Black Metal onslaught, a la Der Weg Einer Freiheit. Achieving a perfect balance between sheer aggression and more hypnotic states, the band pummels through tracks like “Emptied”, “Battling Ego”, and “Still Here”, perfectly tweaking their craft.

For Post-Metal fans, ripping riffs like on “O Vengeance” paired with the savage screams remind us a bit of a darker and more BM-oriented Neurosis. In terms of additional elements, there are certain Emperor’s Anthems-like atmospherics delivered in the brilliant album-title track, and bleed into the Death Metal-esque “Acte Final”. Closing with the experimental “And So Be It”, the band tries some different tempo changes with a slow progressing piece.

As a whole “Life of the Mind” is a pretty intense release filled with pummeling guitar work and hateful vocals. The band’s intensity is quite well channeled in ten very disturbing and engaging songs. While being hard to pin down as any particular genre, The Prisoner does a great job in incorporating multiple styles into a very cohesive and destructive musical force.

Band: The Prisoner Album: Life of the Mind

Label: Dooweet Records

Release: December 9th, 2016

Official Site Social Media

Genre: Black Metal

Country: France

Rating: 89/100
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