West Virgina heavy metal band, Byzantine, returns to the metal scene with their fourth album, self-titled, Byzantine. A mesh of the best parts of bands like Meshuggah, Lamb of God, and Pantera seems like a winning combination in the making. Formed back in 2000, Byzantine focuses on the thrash beats and feeds the occasional progressive beat or classical breakdown that keeps their originality intact. In fact, when the band first started they wrote songs with the help of a BOSS drum machine since they hadn’t found a drummer yet. Byzantine’s members are Chris Ojeda (vocals and rhythm guitar), Tony Rohrbough (lead guitar), Michael Cromer (bass), and Matt Wolfe (drums). Byzantine likes to explore different musical structures in their songs and each song provides a different feel on the album. Having started in West Virginia, Byzantine has kept itself isolated from any influences in mainstream metal music. Their isolation has kept them focused on their individual work and being as original as possible in songwriting and instrumentation.

Each song on the album has a unique section to it that makes it very memorable for the listener. The first track, “White Light Shall Never Penetrate”, has a little boy recite the alphabet with a bass solo in the background followed by a nine second metal scream. Two very contrasting elements that have a bit of a shock factor to it when first heard. The song “Efficacy” has very clean and clear acoustic guitar that intertwines itself with the heavy riffs in the intro and breakdown parts.  “Forged In The Heart Of A Dying St” has a great opening with intricate fretwork that has a bit of power metal control. During the guitar solo is an off rhythm progressive beat that is very groove driven. “Posthumous” begins with a reverse guitar intro and surprisingly has great singing vocals that most thrash metal songs don’t include.  The vocals were very unexpected and showcased Ojeda’s talents that expand more than just screams. “Posthumous” would be regarded as the ballad yet remains a fairly flowing tune tempo-wise.