Metal doesn’t have to be bombastic and testosterone-driven; it isn’t all about volume and velocity; sure muscle plays a part, but only if it dances deftly with melody. How do I know? I’ve just listened to the latest one from Flight 23.
Yes, it is demonstrably metal, at least at its core, powered on by big riffs, intense guitars, and driving beats, but it is what hangs on those core sounds that makes all the difference. Beyond those sonic structures, guitars chime, electronics shimmer, atmospherics and anticipations pool and percolate, and that crystalline voice glides over symphonic soundscapes.
Just another loud and shouty metal song? Anything but.