Thy Art is Murder - Godlike [Album Review]

Review: Dan Maynard

They’re Australia’s greatest death metal export, now racking up some of the biggest shows around the world, proving themselves to be top tier. Now, only just having stepped off a very extensive run on their Human Target tour and Decade of Hate tour, Thy Art is Murder are set to release what will be their first 100% independently released studio album Godlike and quite possibly, their best work yet.

It’s been an exhausting 4 years since the lad’s previous album Human Target. I don’t need to tell you what has happened, right? Human Target became a helping hand, a support aid for metal heads across the world in what ended up being a dark couple of years. But, at the tail end of touring the album, guitarists Andy Marsh and Sean Delander headed back to New Jersey, home of producer extraordinaire and staple in the Thy Art is Murder camp, Will Putney.

Godlike is unlike any past Thy Art album, if you truly take the time to let your ears soak in the songs the way I have, you’ll understand just what I mean. It differs sonically, whereas I can only describe it as spaciously fuller than previous albums. It still encapsulates the essence of any predecessor, but it has a life that sits in the guts of the tracks that glues the songs together and produces something that feels colossal in comparison.

Opening track Destroyer of Dreams hits hard from the first devastating punch, guttural palm mutes and massive drums are only the beginning of what is a solid minute of building, from the palm mutes and drums, to the eerie lead guitar that joins the ranks and the matching dark and sinister vocals, this is easily the best opening track to a Thy Art album and it is only a precursor of what is to come.

The album follows on with the bands most recent single, Blood Throne and straight into the first single release Join Me in Armageddon. Join Me in Armageddon is another perfect example of where the album contrasts differently to previous releases. The song sees the band release a wider scoped track, bringing zero blast beats to the table and still hitting as heavy as anything else they have released. There isn’t a moment on this album that isn’t face melting, completely gut wrenching from beginning to end. Lesson in Pain hits midway and personally for me is the star of the album. A track that encompasses the sheer brutality of Thy Art, blending demonic lead guitars and brutal deathcore riffs, it just hits in all the right spots. Followed by the album’s title track Godlike, once again nothing short of brutal.

As the album comes to an end, closing track Bermuda is the exception to the rest of the album. A complete left turn, showing the fellas have more in their artillery. The most hellish atmospheric switch in pace, slower, eerier, gated drums and big reverberated guitars open the track, followed on by vocalist CJ McMahon giving proof that there’s more to a big guttural scream than just being loud.

There is feeling, there is pain, there is heart in his vocals that matches flawlessly with the mammoth guitars and drums. An unexpected end to the album, but I mean that with no disrespect. It’s something that bands don’t do enough, hard left at the end, throwing off the listener but leaving them gob smacked at the end of the album, it is genius track listing. That song would not hit as hard in any other spot on the album, but as a closer it closes up a truly epic and heartfelt album in the most perfect of ways.

I honestly don’t know how to even end this review other than Godlike is a true work of genius. Yeah you know what, that’ll do it….

Godlike….is….fucking….genius.