Review by Adam M on November 16, 2023.

Paracrona have created a very interesting debut on Sun God. It is a blackened death metal that is very technical and the blackening of the songs is done in the way that makes it have more impact. The idea of breaking out of the grasp of a Sun God is done interestingly and the songs have a certain crispness to them that is welcome. There is a need to escape confines with the progressiveness of the music and it makes the songs more compelling. Songs like 'Mendacious' display a nice foray into progressive death metal and showcase the versatility of the outfit which also certainly have the ability to be forward thinking and this comes across nicely on the disc. 

The musicianship of the album is strong, it is produced and carries on nicely. The guitars are versatile and make for a good portion of the previous statement, but then we add drumming that forms the backbone of the music and nicely complements the guitars. The vocals are blackened and appropriately cap things off. We have songs that sound huge. There is also a complexity to it that is really worthwhile, so musically, the album has a lot going for it and makes its mark upon the listener. Most songs feature lots of surprising touches to make it stand out and as a band it is hard to compare anyone to them because the blackened progressive standpoint is one of a kind. The music blends with thoughtfulness though and it constantly pushes the band forward in interesting directions. This is an interesting album and if there is a flaw to be found with the musicianship it’s that it sometimes overemphasizes the blackened side of the music and it is not as strong as the purely progressive side of the band and this is seen throughout. Here is my take. The flaw I found with the album lies in the inability to correctly piece together different sub-genres at times. The blackened portions of the disc exist outside the progressive ones and this leads to repetition. This also makes the album break up into pieces instead of forming it whole and even though rather long song lengths allow the band to demonstrate their different sides, the coalescing isn’t always done perfectly. The music is largely progressive death metal and there is a sharp focus on this over the blackened side of the music so combining of the genres and other interesting influences works well enough together, but one wishes the gelling was done a bit better. I hope the outfit will work hard on those elements because as effective as they are there's work to be done. 

Aside from that little note the album should be seen as a triumph for the musicians and for progressive death metal fans. The band manages to keep your attention over the course of these long tracks and it's not hard to become enamored with what is on display. Along with Pronostic and others there is a good diet of death metal to enjoy this year. Fans of a blackened progressive style are recommended to check this out. 

Rating: 7.2 out of 10