There are times that when a band is described as being part of a sub-genre that in itself is part of another sub-genre that one just wants to not bother listening to the album, as how on earth can that be right? Well, back with their second album Mayan prove again just how wrong that idea can be, as what we have here is a Symphonic Death Metal band who are exactly that. Originally this started as a project conceived by Mark Jansen (Epica) and his old friend, Jack Driessen (ex-After Forever), and they put together a band with some guest singers (including current Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen). Well, Floor is back again for this album, but there has been a firming of the ranks and there are now seven full-time members, three of whom are singers.
Songs such as “Insano” allow soprano Laura Macri to show her paces, but for the most part her role is to provide support to the main leads of Mark Jansen (grunts and screams) and Henning Basse. Musically there is a great deal going on, and the guys aren’t afraid to bring out the acoustic when the time is right, but for the most part this is brutal metal with keyboards being orchestrated to bring an over the top appeal to the material. It is polished, and extremely complex, but there are times such as with “Human Sacrifice” where the symphonic passages are used to highlight just how heavy and strong these guys can be when they want to.
There have been a few albums in this style recently, and when bands get it right I am stunned at just how bombastic and intense this can be. To say that Mayan have it right is something of an understatement as this is everything one could wish for with an album, with great songs, wonderful musical performances and vocals, while the production is also top rate. This is definitely worth discovering.
www.nuclearblast.de
