Review: “Rubidium” by Visitant

A debut album that focuses on the bleakest parts of being human with overarching themes of grief, loss, betrayal, vengeance, time lost and regret with a dark femininity is the promise of “Rubidium” from Florida Blackened Death metal collective Visitant. The culmination of three years of dedication to craft, the record takes its name from the Latin word rubidus, meaning deep red, however is a reactive silvery white metal with various applications in medical imaging and atomic clocks. It’s not toxic but ingesting it can be lethal, all of which makes it the perfect title for the subject matter at hand. If that wasn’t enticing enough, let us add that the outfit is formed of a seasoned collection of veterans in guitarist Taylor Tidwells (Unaligned), bassist Kilian Duarte (Abiotic, Scale the Summit), vocalist Chelsea Marrow (Voraath) and drummer Anthony Lusk-Simone (Abiotic, Lattermath) who also adds orchestrations…

Curiously opening track “Unworldly” is one from which the overall themes of the album seeps out from every pore and in all fairness must have been a close contender for the title track. Marrow impresses from the very start vocally with storytelling abilities, the tale of a time traveller trapped between realms like a ghost, haunting his younger self making for intriguing listening. The orchestrations give the track a real sense of epic majesty, something only added to by the blistering lead guitars and thunderous percussion, all of which has the Extreme Metal flavour of bands like Cradle Of Filth. After the harsh banshee like vocals of that dramatic opening cut, Marrow offers up some delicate cleans to introduce “Briars” before returning to the savage ways. A tale of dying without knowing it and being confined to a house, watching strangers coming and going as they please for hundreds of years is one that both thought provoking and utterly captivating. Progressive Metal moments with hints of DJent between restless, relentless blast beats and almost choral vocal harmonies fuelling that fire, the whispered moment wrapped melancholic piece of lead guitar work nothing short of majestic. Dark femininity comes into play with “Starless” with thoughts of violence and vengeance in self preservation, the Progressive Death Metal rhythms building the mountain with orchestral style movements. The blood, sweat and tears in rehearsal space perfecting these cryptic writings was worth every second, the verve, swagger and flow of each track nothing short of perfection.

A nightmarish fever dream, title track “Rubidium” feels like an alternative reality to the one portrayed in The Matrix. A deity feeds humans to the soils of the earth in order for it to survive with everything that grows from it having a human like face. Perhaps that is why sonically the track is a couple of shades heavier than the rest as well as being arguably the most progressive. A whirlwind of percussive battery and swirling riffage brings another nightmare to life in “Fodder“, an attempt to bring a murdered friend back from the dead going horribly wrong. Crushing, weighty rhythms rise to the surface in the mid section, the embellishment of intricate lead guitars adding more than a little star dust. There are plenty of nuances within the record as a whole and that makes it very much the cliché that is the gift that keeps giving, rewarding multiple listens with hitherto unheard moments of utter brilliance.

A bleak story of sleep paralysis and fever dreams, “Envies Lament” roars with the power of a clenched fist and the will to overcome, a back and forth between harsh uncleans and delicate clean vocal harmonies being one of many brilliant moments. Melancholic guitars and storm like waves of percussion maintain perpetual forward motion, none of the energy lost despite plenty of opportunity to fade gently into the background, like the band have harnessed the strengths of bands like Oceans Of Slumber. Ethnic percussion and acoustic guitars give rise to the finale that is “Moon Bathe“, a song without lyrics which finds Marrow using her vocals as an instrument of warm harmony. Metaphorically it feels like a Camel ride into the sunset across Arabian sands with an almost cinematic quality to it, the guitars and drums rising in the second half before the inevitably brilliant crescendo. A stunning piece of work that will leave you craving the next chapter, this has everything you could possibly want and then some [9/10]

1. Unworldly
2. Briars
3. Starless
4. Rubidium
5. Fodder
6. Envies Lament
7. Moon Bathe

“Rubidium” by Visitant is out 22nd August 2025 via Exitus Stratagem Records