Album Review: Pteroglyph – Death Of A Prince (Self Released)

Death of a Prince by Pteroglyph is the work of one man over a period of years & will be self released on June 23rd 2017.

Jimmy MacGregor, the one man behind the UK based project had this to say:

“The themes and ideas behind the songs are drawn from personal life experiences that we all deal with on a regular basis such as love, death, anger and misery. It is an honest statement of my personality and views on the world brought to life through obnoxious screaming and dramatic aural landscapes!This album and Pteroglyph is most certainly a labour of love. Whether it’s the furious rage of one song to some of the more melancholy aspects of the album, it’s an expression of who I am and reflects everything I love about heavy music. Bringing this live to the stage is going to create something very special and extremely punishing that you will not want to miss! I hope everyone can dig all the music as much as I’ve enjoyed it creating it!”

The progressive sound that Pteroglyph throw out combines fury with melancholy moments resulting in an album that constantly surprises. Not content with living in one genre, Death of a Prince blends groove with technical & progressive but still keeps its roots firmly planted in heavy metal.

There’s some serious guitar wizardry here, songs like Left Blind, Deceit of Choice & Death of a Prince are great examples of this. Amongst all the chugging riffs, every so often Pteroglyph throw something new & complex into the mix. It’s always a welcome surprise & never fails to impress.

As well as the amazing guitar skill on show a lot should be made of the vocals. Mixing harsh, angry sounds with a cleaner style is hardly something new but here it just soars. The clean vocals are used sparingly & always seem to come at just the right time. Unaccountable & Komplex both showcase the vocals perfectly.

Death of a Prince’s crowning moment is Komplex, guitars that sound so electric & alive that every hair on your body will be standing. It’s a stunning song with the contrasting vocals giving it plenty of emotional bite.

The short, beautiful melodic interlude of D.O.D gives you time to take in what you’ve just heard & prepare you for the final track on the album, Heavy Casualties. Everything you’ve come to expect from Pteroglyph is evident on this album finale. It’s got proggy guitar moments, a deep bass chug, soaring clean vocals & death metal-esqe roars. A fantastic finish to a fantastic album.

Death of a Prince is a far stronger album thanks to the final 3 tracks. Komplex, D.O.D & Heavy Casualties are untouchable with their superior quality.

Pteroglyph – Death of a Prince Full Track Listing:

1. Left Blind
2. Unaccountable
3. Deceit of Choice
4. Red on You
5. The Wanderer
6. Death of a Prince
7. Komplex
8. D.O.D
9. Heavy Casualties

You can order Death of a Prince over on Bandcamp & listen to earlier EPs through Apple Music by clicking the button below. You can find out more about Petroglyph on Facebook & Twitter.