Album Review: Whom Gods Destroy - Insanium

About a decade ago, my Album Of The Year was by a supergroup, and was called "Kaleidoscope". That comes to mind right now, because much of the rock and metal scene feels like a kaleidoscope, where we turn the handle and the same pieces get moved into different places to form new images. It seems like we are always hearing about new band and projects with familiar names being paired together in new ways. That can be frustrating, since it leaves us always wondering if any of these things are going to last long enough to justify us caring in the first place.

Whom Gods Destroy is a 'supergroup' offshoot of another 'supergroup'. Basically, they are the successors to Sons Of Apollo, after that band essentially broke up upon Mike Portnoy's return to Dream Theater. Bumblefoot and Derek Shirinian continue on with this band, playing a modern metal of the same style, but with Dino Jelusick taking over the vocal reigns from Jeff Scott Soto. That lets them actually go further in the modern direction, which can be both the biggest strength and weakness of this group.

The opening song is the first one released to tease this group, "In The Name Of War". It does what it's supposed to, marrying the band's deep, down-tuned groove to a chorus with a more melodic shine. It's rightly similar to Sons Of Apollo's shorter songs, and is absolutely what the band should be focused on. Those tracks fit the modern vibe of Bumblefoot's riffing, and they also void their tendency to get lost in notes without finding a song.

But that modernity is also a downfall. Take the second song released, "Over Again", for example. It has the same sludgy groove in the guitars, but Dino spends the verses barking in monotone, only for the chorus to have barely a melody at all. The song is so concerned with sounding heavy that it reduces one of their best assets to a role anyone could fail just as equally at. Dino is a great singer, but you wouldn't know it listening to this song. The songwriting is non-existent, leaving it sounding like tuneless prog without any of the supposedly 'intelligent' playing.

There is one other song of that kind on the record, "Crucifier", and together they are the clear nadirs of the album. I struggle to hear what in those songs I'm supposed to be enjoying, since there isn't a melody I can hum to myself, and the riffs are rhythms that remind me of typing equations into a calculator. It just doesn't feel very... musical.

The rest of the album avoids that fate, but it doesn't do a lot to elevate itself above merely being fine. The style of guitar playing doesn't lend itself to the kinds of riffs that stick in my head, and Dino winds up rasping his way through many of the songs to enough of a degree that the melodies are harsher than they should be. Ten percent less effort spent on trying to be as heavy as possible would have made this whole thing sound far more inviting, at least to me.

Ultimately, Whom Gods Destroy has made a record that's perfectly fine, but not very exciting. It comes across to my ears as if it's trying way too hard, and ultimately that's what leaves it feeling like a disappointment. There's a degree to which I think the band might have been afraid to write more accessible songs, lest people think they aren't metal enough, and I'm having trouble getting past that thought. Sons Of Apollo was a flawed band, and not all the right lessons were learned when they morphed into this group. There's enough here to be mildly enjoyable, but I think the highs of Sons Of Apollo being higher made that group far more interesting.