Metal Underground.com

Regrettably, it seems 1940 wasn’t the last time France succumbed to the might of its European axis neighbors. Germany and Italy, together with former fellow victim Poland, the behemoth of Scandinavia – and Britain for the final insult – have exported thriving metal scenes that make France’s appear barely visible. It’s little wonder that Gojira are constantly hailed as “France’s metal band” alongside the requisite musical praise; their nation’s presence in the international market is relatively slight.

For their part, Lyonnais melodic death/thrashers Destinity have been diligently carrying the torch, and despite the rather nonsensical play on words (try saying their name five times fast), have done France proud. “Resolve In Crimson” is Destinity’s third in a string of albums for Lifeforce Records, and sixth overall since their 1996 formation. It’s also one of the stronger melodic death releases this year.

No, it’s nothing new. The harmonized, hook-driven formula established on “Black Sun Rising” and “Reap My Scars” is one of modern metal’s most familiar by now. Destinity doesn’t do “original.” They plant a flag in long-conquered soil and liven the party by rearranging a few things, but not so drastically as to risk a failed experiment. Danish producer Jacob Hansen (Aborted, Destruction, Raunchy) hammers and chisels from the band a mammoth, synth-enhanced sound that breeds the precisely controlled, thrashy carnage of Sweden’s Darkane with the almost superhuman melody-making virtuosity of Germany’s Deadlock (before that band’s Lacuna Coil fetish went just a bit too far). Destinity’s greatest asset is the sustained “power hook,” the continuous avalanche of infectious melody whose emotional punch demands it be played in an aggressive, ridiculously heavy fashion and blasted at top volume.

On the downside, the trouble with such a formula – to paraphrase Margaret Thatcher – is that eventually, you run out of other people’s ideas. “Only Way” could’ve been titled “Only Break,” as it’s the lone mid-tempo reprieve from the charged galloping and thrash-attack intensity of the rest of the disc. “Can’t Stand The Sight” packs an impressive number of dynamic ideas into a lengthy seven minutes, but otherwise, the album’s gift is also its repetitive curse: it’s just too much of the same good thing, even for a mere nine tracks.

That’s hardly to say you won’t have an amazing time with “Resolve In Crimson,” however, particularly if you’re a dedicated fan of this slick, modern breed of melodic death that makes plenty of room for thrashers, power geeks, and all-around extreme junkies alike. The individual cuts are strong as diamonds, they flow together gracefully, and even though you might swear you already heard “The Hatred” more than once by the time it finally arrives at the end, you won’t exactly be complaining.