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AUGUST LIFE
The Broken Hourglass EP

No Dust (2021)
Rating: 8/10

In spite of being metal veterans individually, Netherlands combo August Life – featuring current and former members of Highway Chile, Praying Mantis, Picture, and Vengeance – has only been in existence since 2017, and released their debut full-length album New Eternity in August 2018.

The quintet dabbles in polished, melodic, thinking man’s metal with flecks of Dio mysticism and faint streaks of power metal, and this new six-track EP acts a preview of the band’s new material by way of the new composition ‘The Broken Hourglass’, which is accompanied by four live tracks – ‘Coming Home’, ‘Dead End’, ‘Turn Back Time’ and ‘New Eternity’ – as well as an alternate studio version of the song ‘Nevermore’.

Everything about this affair feels Gothic, with opener ‘The Broken Hourglass’ revealing itself in numerous stages. The initial fast-paced Accept-driven metal drops to darker, brooding and slower passages. In both extremes vocalist Bryan Ketelaars is an unstoppable force – his vocals soar above the doomier chugs – and when the band becomes a frantic machine there’s still that impressive, Gothic control.

I really like the atmospheric moments on the opus, especially the slow build ups and the well-crafted passages where Hans in ’t Zant’s drums connect effortlessly with Ronald Pieterse’s bass. ‘Coming Home’ is a fine example of such a tandem; this one really clanks hard and has strong Dio elements from the vocals to that mystical powerhouse of a coating. In its live setting, ‘Coming Home’ is probably the heaviest track on offer, where Ketelaars’s vocals are delivered at a more grizzled rumble and the music trudges in doomier fashion, all building to a great chorus.

Meanwhile, the fizzing energy of ‘New Eternity’ features some sizzling guitar work and remains the EP’s paciest turn out, but again there’s that killer mid-tempo darkness.

However, it’s the dizzying stomp of ‘Turn Back Time’ and clunking chug of ‘Dead End’ which really catapult the EP to new heights. The latter is a sturdy, hefty heavyweight of what I’d call mid-to-late 90s groove metal whereby the vocals take on a growl and the music in general toils with menace, while ‘Turn Back Time’ is equally bony but features extra dashes of melody.

Closer ‘Nevermore (Alternate Version)’ seems a tad out of place, with its dark, brooding piano and string-laden expression of haunting and wistful subtlety, but it does act as a nice way to round off the EP.

What is clear throughout this release is that August Life are a very flexible posse that operates within a steely framework of tried and tested metal formulas. The grit at times surprises me, suggesting they’ve still yet to find their groove, but one thing that is guaranteed with an EP of this design is that you’ll get classy, metallic metal that is both wondrously heavy and yet hidden within its folds are numerous other styles to keep you guessing.

The next full-length release should really see August Life’s sound flourish, but until then, enjoy the savage yet subtle nuances of this very metal expression.

Neil Arnold

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