Shepherds of Cassini - In Thrall to Heresy

Angry Metal Guy

Long, long ago, around when I first joined the staff here, Shepherds of Cassini released Helios Forsaken. I didn’t discover it in time to actually write anything about it, but it quickly became one of my favorite records. Prog is still my greatest musical love. I’ve been burnt out on prog metal of late—or perhaps it all just sucks. But I still often return to Helios Forsaken. I always felt a little guilty about not having been able to bring more attention to a band that deserved to be a lot bigger. Never mind, I told myself. I’ll cover the next album! Ten years later, during which I had entirely given up hope, here we are. Ten years of anticipation and my complicated feelings about modern prog make reviewing In Thrall to Heresy a slightly intimidating prospect.

I needn’t have stressed: In Thrall is excellent. I don’t know that this necessarily heralds the return of prog for me. It very much picks up where Helios Forsaken left off. But frankly, that’s a breath of fresh air where a lot of bands I love(d) have toned down the heaviness and turned up the poppiness in a way that’s left them feeling a bit insubstantial. In Thrall sounds chunky and substantial. It sits in a middle ground that’s not afraid to play with everything between catchy melody and crushing riffs and harsh vocals. There’s plenty of prog noodling here, but there’s a weight to their instruments that makes them a joy to listen to. Melody and noodling duties are shared between Brendan Zwaan’s guitar and Felix Lun’s violin. Ne Obliviscaris do the violin prog thing in a very flashy way that makes them A Violin Band; Shepherds’ violin instead adds texture to their instrumentation without coming across as wanky (“Slough,” “Abyss”). Their rhythm section (Omar Al-Hashimi and Vitesh Bava, drums and bass respectively) is meaty without the atonality of djent (“Usurper” intro, “Abyss”) and does some stellar work on build-up sections (“Vestibule,” “Abyss” again). Everything sounds great.

In Thrall to Heresy by Shepherds of Cassini

Of course, making your instruments sound great doesn’t buy much without great music to play, and here In Thrall also delivers. Indeed, there’s noticeable growth since Helios Forsaken, and it’s easy to forget the band are unsigned. The melodic writing is excellent, both on the vocals (“Slough,” “Usurper”) and the interplay between the lead violin and guitar (“Red Veil,” “Usurper” again). As with any good prog, the songs are complex and multi-faceted, and the transitions are always elegant. This album is very heavy on atmospheric semi-interlude tracks (“Vestibule” and “Mutineers,” both somewhere between an interlude and a real song). These work well and even deliver some album highlights (the violin lead on outro “Threnody” is genuinely beautiful), but then I loved Hierophant Violent. “Abyss” is a straight-up post-metal track, with a long slow build-up and crushingly heavy finale.

There are some stylistic choices that might be a matter of taste. Brendan Zwaan’s clean vocals are quite high in the mix and occasionally a little rough and ready, in a way that reminds me a bit of the Ben Levin Group. (His harsh vocals, e.g. on “Red Veil,” I like a lot.) And there’s a lot of use of heavy processing effects—wah and phaser pedals on guitars, echoey drums, vocoder filters on vocals (“Abyss” has a section which is very reminiscent of Affinity-era Haken). This reads as quite retro, perhaps a slight contradiction for progressive music, but welcome given my issues with modern prog metal. The production, though, is excellent, giving solidity to all of those wonderful instrument tones. The band sound polished and assured.

Reviewing bands you have Feelings about without second-guessing yourself is always hard. Shepherds of Cassini have saved my angst by producing a record I have no reservations about recommending. In Thrall to Heresy has done nothing but grow on me since I first heard it. The ten-year wait has brought additional maturity to the writing—and social relevance to the lyrics¹—but kept the sound I loved so much on the previous album. If you’re at all interested in prog and post-metal, but particularly if you find yourself hankering after a heavier, more interesting-sounding prog metal that the genre seems to have forgotten, this is for you.

Rating: Excellent
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: FLAC
Label: Self-released
Websites: shepherdsofcassini.bandcamp.com | shepherdsofcassini.com | facebook.com/shepherdsofcassiniband
Releases Worldwide: February 21st, 2025

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