Kadinja – Ascendancy – Album Review

Source // Kadinja

Finally, three years after releasing their critically acclaimed debut EP, Kadinja are gracing us with their first full length album, Ascendancy and boy was it worth the wait! Sounding like a heavy metal version of The Matrix, this French prog/tech metal (why don’t we just call it ‘trog’ for short?) quintet have laid down some sweet riffology and was unleashed on the world on 24th February 2917.

Everything about this album tells us that Kadinja must have a million and one other career paths available to them; they’re highly skilled, their tracks are beautifully constructed and they have real flair. What we’re trying to say is that if Kadinja were to come over and lay down some sweet ‘trog’ (we weren’t joking, this will become a thing) tunage, we wouldn’t be afraid to ask them to build our new conservatory….because they’ll probably ace that as well!

Ascendancy moves between melodic hip swaying and neck snapping technicality with ease while the vocals – split between a delicate singing and heavier screaming – are perfectly balanced. It’s also got some sweet breakdowns, “Episteme Part 2” being our favourite example. There’s even a moment in “GLHF” where it sounds like someone has taken a hammer to your old dial up modem while it’s desperately trying to connect to the internet! Somehow, it all works!

A brilliantly constructed and highly skilled debut. 7/10

Source // Kadinja