Solace of Requiem is a technical blackened death metal band from the United States. The band plays music that is not only instrumentally technical but is also technical in composition. Blending death metal, black metal, doom, thrash, jazz, rock and many other forms of music to create the extremely diverse sound that makes SOR unique. The band's lyrics are based on philosophy and mysticism but are very dark in nature. Expressing hatred, hopelessness and brutality that is presented with alternating perspectives through poetry.
SOR's first (self-titled) album was released in 2004. The album is pure old-school death metal containing only brief glimpses of what the band has become today. Although the production quality is very low, the album is ridden with great old-school death metal that has moments of technical playing and the dark atmospheres that are more common in the band's later albums.
The second album (Utopia Reborn) was released in 2006 and is clearly evolved from the more simple composition of the first album. Utopia Reborn is a great piece of progressive death metal. Still somewhat old-school but far more technical and has a more thrash and groove feel to it. As well as having more melody, elements of black metal and a great production. The album was mastered by Andy Classen at Stage One Studio in Germany and Bret Hoffmann from Malevolent Creation did backing vocals for one of the tracks. All helping to give the band's second release a label deal, worldwide distribution and underground recognition.
Solace of Requiem's third album (The Great Awakening) was released in 2010 and is the closest evolution of what the band has become in 2012. This album is pure technicality with brutal death metal breakdowns and black metal riffing galore. Produced entirely by Andy Classen at Stage One Studio in Germany, the album's production is amazing. The contrast between The Great Awakening and the previous two SOR albums is almost incomprehensible. Having learned the direction and sound they wanted to achieve, Solace of Requiem incorporated all they had learned into the creation of this third album. Growing not only in to very technical instrument players, but in to very technical song writers as well. Composing a truly blackened death metal album that is extremely technical yet still filled with dark atmosphere and savage brutality.
While writing their fourth album in 2012, the band realized that they had finally discovered the perfect musical direction they wanted to follow. The new album will be the first album that the band feels is the proper evolution of SOR's brand of blackened death metal. So because of this reason, Solace of Requiem has decided to treat the first three releases as if they were only practice for the band's fourth album. SOR will therefor release their fourth and most brutal album with a new band logo. The album is set to be recorded in February 2013 at Mana Recording Studios In St. Petersburg, Florida. Sure to be the most relentlessly technical onslaught of sick and brutal mind metal to date!
