The Neologist - The 26 Letters of Your Universe

With only two members in their ranks, The Neologist start off on the right foot with a competent and promising debut album that dwells on a melodic death-metal style with a strong Swedish bound.
There’s a detectable In Flames influence running throughout most of the songs, opening song “Dead Winter Inside” in particular brings to mind the Swedes’ early period when they used to imbue their songs with a folk flavour. Indeed, the U.S. duo made no efforts to camouflage their influences and even included a cover of “The Hive” from the Swedes’ third album “Whoracle” that stands up pretty well with the original material.
“The 26 Letters of Your Universe” is heavy and packs a muscular punch, but it’s also extremely melodic at times with a great amount of clean vocalizations interspersed between ferocious rasps. I should also mention the outstanding guitar work of James Lewis, who reveals a special knack for killer hooks and mesmerising harmonies.
It’s not an instant success though, some songs do lack a more consistent identity as they sound too clued to acts like In Flames, Soilwork and Scar Symmetry, and the drum work sounds far too mechanical and processed for my own taste. I guess that’s one of the shortcomings of having just two members.
Nonetheless, “The 26 Letters of Your Universe” is definitely a competent and entertaining work that shows that The Neologist has the musical talent and skill to make a difference in the scene. They just need to work hard to develop a more distinct personality and refine some of the rough edges. (6.6/10)

David Alexandre

Band info: www.myspace.com/theneologist
For fans of: In Flames, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry, Disarmonia Mundi