Review: “Solitude” from Befell

A brand new band forged in the fires of the Great Plague, writing and recording their parts remotely in isolation in the hope that they would at some point share a practice space let alone a stage, Bruce Boring (vocals and guitars), Mitchell Caprio (guitars), and Jace Ebersole (drums) chose the moniker Befell for themselves. First they created a six track demo called “Uproot” before taking the ideas and sound that they had put into the melting pot to create it and birthing “Solitude“. The result is an outfit that have a modern Thrash sound, while also incorporating many elements of Metalcore to bolster it with that takes inspiration from the same bands that helped create the sounds of the likes of Trivium, Killswitch Engage, and As I Lay Dying.

The instant nature of “Ticks” as a song takes hold and drags you through a hedge backwards, not letting go thanks to its familiar nature as it lives in territories of time honored tradition with Metallica esq riffs, lightening leads and flame ignited solos delivered at nitro fueled speed designed to have you snap your neck before it ends. Befell put their own spin on things enough to set them apart, the quality of the musicianship impressing as they throw themselves into these tunes. “Endless Cycle” has flavours of Unearth to it as it hits like a Juggernaut and just keeps going with an extended Traditional Metal solo duel that is as good as you’ve heard in any arena sized venue. The dark melodies and lyrics are wrapped in a sense of riff filled fun despite those deeper meanings and each song is like a posh meal in an expensive restaurant, each mouthful bursting with flavour that takes you to different places. A mumbled spoken word element on “Innocent Victims” adds a darker layer but the sing-a-long parts which follow it give a fist pumping attitude as it stomps around, lifted by another Traditional Metal solo and Bruce Boring having the vocal abilities to switch between some solid uncleans and higher pitched clean parts. There are moments when, as with Matt Heafy of Trivium fame, you can hear James Hetfield’s vocal tones but fortunately they are few and far between enough. The use of vocal layering on “Smoke Signals” is well used and gives the impression of two vocalists as one underpins the other while the band call for you to bite the bullet and take the kill shot before sliding into an understated classy breakdown section that builds into a lightning fast solo that burns the fretboard. Everything you could want from a Modern Metal release is within the confines of “Solitude“, it builds on all the heritage that went before it and creates something that is an absolute pleasure [8/10]

Track listing

1. Ticks
2. Endless Cycle
3. Innocent Victims
4. Smoke Signals

Solitude” by Befell is out 20th May 2021 with pre-orders available over at bandcamp

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