Every once in a while, during the most despondent, depressingly idiotic and bleakest of times, when the world is burning at such intensity that the dumpster fire is beginning to melt retinas, ethical standards and intellect, an album arrives and strikes through prevailing insanity and malaise like a purifying thunderbolt that emits hope and optimism and amazes with its musical prowess and richness. On this particular occasion, that revered honor goes to Dessiderium and their barnburner of a new album Keys to the Palace.  

In the promo material, Dessiderium’s founder and lone member Alex Haddad explains that Keys to the Palace was over ten years in the making and is largely based on material that he first worked on prior to Shadow Burn (2020) and Aria (2021). This long game of letting ideas marinate pays off tremendously, as Keys to the Palace, Dessiderium’s fifth full length, shows no signs of diminishing returns or resting on the well-earned laurels and accolades of Aria; instead, it boldly charts new inspired territories and commits to a level of ambition and compositional intricacy and beauty that surpasses Aria. The scale and depth of Keys to the Palace and its melodic and progressive death metal are epic and resplendent and multitudes happen during the course of each song, with the shortest tracking seven minutes and three breaching the 10-minute threshold. It is testament to Haddad’s songwriting and compositional acumen that the longform songs and the entire 62-minute run-time of the album whiz by with a sense of surprising ease, despite the complex and dynamic nature of the arrangements.

While Keys to the Palace is exuberant and effervescent in every aspect, Haddad’s strong understanding and implementation of sophisticated elegance helps avoid over-the-top levels of symphonic pomposity. This is on full display since the get-go, in the way “In the Midst of May” introduces playful shifts and exploratory pokes and peeks, and gives an early idea of how expansive and imaginative the musical horizons are about to get. To the relief and delight of those demanding serious shredding, the opening salvo ultimately paves the way for the cannon blast of “Dover Hendrix,” which has every instrument firing on all steaming and sweating cylinders, and reaches crescendo after crescendo. The guitar solo starting at 5:40 demonstrates Haddad’s adroitness in handling melody and driving the musical narrative, leading into a soaring denouement followed by a beautiful piano-led coda and inspiring outro. The glittering hopefulness of “Magenta” swells into a maelstrom of emotion and, starting from the six-minute mark, hurls itself into a rolling cathartic culmination. “Pollen for the Bees” employs lively stop-start dynamics, before it is overcome momentarily by aching and longing, before accelerating to escape velocity and transitioning into euphoric exchange and alternation between guitars and piano that segues into an orchestral wall of sound and closure. In many places, Keys to the Palace recalls and projects Townsendian charm, with the title track’s first segment recalling the lush texture and grandeur of Devin’s music circa Terria and Accelerated Evolution. Through the album, Haddad’s vocals exhibit a Townsendian range and tone, ranging from growls to sharp snarls, emotive cleans and frisky, near-operatic panache. Essentially, while Dev’s influence cannot be denied, Haddad is his own master and creative dynamo. 

Keys to the Palace is an album so appropriate for the time of its release that it feels as if orchestrated by grand design or magic, and the greatness and sincerity of Alex Haddad’s music makes the experience genuinely serendipitous and magnificent. It’s one of those rare albums that succeeds in simultaneously providing solace and projecting unfazed optimism while the music itself screams wild defiance. As Haddad promised in the promo material, Keys to the Palace reaches for triumph — and achieves it with flying colors.

— Zyklonius

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Keys to the Palace is available now on Willowtip Records. For more information on Dessiderium, visit their Facebook page.