Destinity is a melodic metal band out of Lyon, France with four albums already in their discography, their fifth album XI Reasons To See (Eleven Reasons To See) is Destinity’s latest galloping crusade of melodic death metal.

I will admit I am skeptical of a band who feels the need to use keyboards. It’s not out of some personal prejudice, it’s not that keyboards can’t be metal or can’t be heavy. All too frequently, keyboards are like explosions in a Michael Bay film, fun, but melodramatic and cheesy, plentiful, predictable, and lacking real purpose. Keyboards rarely mesh well and fail to succeed adding any real integrated dimension to a bands’ sound. Unfortunately, Destinity falls into this category of instrumentation. Slathered in frequent synth orchestral extravagance, XI Reasons To See is unable to really break out and grab the listener’s ear without just relying on a smattering of fiery eruptions of hammy drama. With Destinity’s very melody dominant guitars, catchy hooks and riffs, there is really no need for the keyboard. A Zen, less-is-more, use of the keyboards rather than the conspicuous, overzealous theatrical execution displayed on XI Reasons To See might have served the album better.

While the keys are enough to make one cringe out of distaste for the blood-and-thunder exaggerated melodies, it is not necessarily an Achilles’ heal. XI Reasons To See is a remarkably very accessible and catchy at its best but cripplingly derisive and unoriginal at its worst. With thrash riffs and catchy soaring melodies, it doesn’t take long to hear some central influences. Gothenburg metal acts like In Flames and At the Gates is what first comes to mind along with contemporary melodic death metal Vikings, Amon Amarth. Fans of these bands will have one of two reactions, either “THIS IS AWESOME, THEY SOUND LIKE (insert name of previously stated band here)!” or “THIS IS CRAP, THEY RIPPED OFF (insert name of previously stated band here)!” Regardless the similarity is striking and at times so much so, it is disturbing. Certain passages sound almost lifted out of any number of Amon Amarth’s later albums, or At the Gates’ Slaughter of the Soul. Of course the songs are epic anthems that could easily be played in the background as a soundtrack to a galloping horse-mounted Norse raiding party burning villages and cutting down helpless adversaries. Unfortunately these tracks don’t sufficiently stand on their own merit. While songs like “To Touch The Ground” are well arranged and dynamic, it still leaves you wanting to listen to more Amon Amarth instead.

Unable to offer anything beyond the familiar, Destinity’s XI Reasons to See has no staying power beyond its catchy clichés. Destinity shares a sound with many other established and accomplished bands, and fail to recreate the sound in this album as a unique blend of originality and influence. Instead of a bold artistic vision that deconstructs influence and re-imagines it as inspiration, assimilating it into unique personal experience, Destinity played it safe. Their sound is not just allusionary, but mimicry. Destinity’s XI Reasons to See relies on a derivative, cookie-cutter sound, rather than any compelling adaptation, leaving the listener with an experience that is forgettable.

2.0/5