REVIEW: Equilibrium - Equinox

EQUILIBRIUM returns from hiatus with a bang on 7th album Equinox, armed with a new lead vocalist and some electro infusion to launch the trio into the new age. Filled with technical excellence and exhilarating soundscapes, Equinox is power metal you could run a marathon to. 

Album opener is Earth Tongue - a massive track with tribal drums and  monastic harmonies. The electronic elements come into their own in follow up awakening, as does the breadth of the soundscape present in Equinox: EQUILIBRIUM manage to transition from impassioned screams to a flute breakdown with ease, speaking to the technical skills of EQUILIBRIUM in this self-produced project. The element that felt unnecessary was the produced outro at the end, which felt like an interlude tacked onto the end of an otherwise intentional and well paced track. This decision feels particularly odd as two of the fourteen tracks on Equinox are interludes already, as well as a separate outro track. Perhaps an attempt at a 3 act structure, but any of these could be traded with the extended outro of Awakening or removed completely with little impact on Equinox overall. 

After first interlude Archivist there is the singles section of Equinox, starting with Gnosis then Bloodwood. Bloodwood is the track of note of these singles, with an intro that reminds of shanty metal then infusing some more of the electronic production that elevates the tracks it appears on. Bloodwood pulls no punches in its tempo, as well as incorporating an ektar solo which was a welcome surprise. The midsection of Equinox is the strongest, with Bloodwood followed by I’ll be thunder, whose synths feel 80s in its build then remind of ELECTRIC CALLBOY as it hits the meat and potatoes. Anderswelt feels like a storybook, with lyrics of rising and rebirth connecting these concepts to the emergence of spring and the freedom the night can offer. One Hundred Hands focuses more on melody before hitting a static infused breakdown as well as allowing some time for the drumming to come to the fore. Borrowed Waters is the first track where the female guest vocal comes into play, as well as slows down an otherwise sonically huge project into something more pensive; a break in the fast pace giving room to breathe and absorb Equinox. 

The end of Equinox is oddly structured, with another interlude (Rituals of the Sun and Moon) before final full track Nexus is followed by outro Ties of Time. The elements of Rituals of the Sun and Moon add to the uniqueness of Equinox with the integration of throat singing, then Nexus pulls no punches in its beginning and incorporates spoken word into its swelling second half that add to the power of this project. This said, isolating Nexus from the rest of the album feels an odd choice: the track itself would hold its own as the album closer, no extra outro separate to needed, while cutting it off with two short separate movements works to bloat the project rather than add to it meaningfully. One longer track incorporating the elements of Rituals of Sun and Moon and Ties of Time may have worked better to offer a big conclusion to this massive soundscape. 

All in all, Equinox feels like a comeback; a theatrical largeness with the passion to sell it alongside varied yet intentional elements that offered uniqueness to a sub genre that can blend into itself. Though there was some odd choices in the album structure, once EQUILIBRIUM have settled back into writing these will sure fade away. 

Score: 7/10

Equinox was released on 28th November via Nuclear Blast Records.

Words: Julia Brunton

Photos: Equilibrium