Starting life as your average old school death metal unit but transforming into something quite different, German trio Chapel of Disease may sound like a Morbid Angel tribute act, but a closer comparison would be... Dire Straits?! Yes, mainman Laurent Teubl is clearly a fan of Mark Knopfler and has taken his project away from its roots to the point that Echoes of Light, the band's fourth album since forming in 2008, is hard to even describe as death metal any more, instrumentally closer to classic or even soft rock at points. What gives this album a narrow appeal, however, is the fact that some death metal influences remain and the rock elements don't result in anything approaching catchiness for the most part. The eight minute opening title track takes three minutes before introducing vocals and when it does they are ill-fitting throaty snarls, more what you'd expect from a blackened thrash unit than anything prog-related! And the music itself, driven by Teubl's clean guitar, is an uneasy blend of classic rock and death metal riffs, at points moving closer to either before moving on restlessly - the closest comparison is probably one of Tribulation's more transitionary albums?

Chapel of Disease, however, are very much their own unit (or perhaps just Teubl's since the rest of the band seems to have departed after this album...) and unlike anything else you're likely to hear out there currently. Fans of guitar playing especially will be in heaven and able to focus on that fully and it is truly excellent, taking you along for the ride as it shifts between genres and remains engrossing throughout. It absolutely saves this odd little record and more than makes it worth considering for the average underground voyager, moving from post-metal to blackened trills to classic widdling and doing so entirely convincingly. Album highlight A Death Through No Loss especially channels the lead guitars into a propulsive and infectious song with almost power metal leanings before devolving into a pleasant melodic interlude, spiritually very much in tune with the Claptonic guitar heroes of yore.

Later in the song it speeds to blastbeat tempo and although generally the drum performance here (from David Dankert, also of Infernäl Death) is superb, it's very easy to ignore in favour of the all-encompassing guitar. The album trips up a little thereafter, the clean singing in Shallow Nights and Gold/Lust dragging it down a little despite being as instrumentally supreme as before and making the songs feel like some second-tier shoegaze meandering - fine for what they are, but certainly standing out awkwardly as inferior compared to A Death Through No Loss. Some dreamy synth work and fluttering electronic effects feel superfluous, too, especially given the ensuing guitar soloing. And although Selenophile tries to drag things towards the metal end of things in terms of riffs, the song structure is clearly closer to rock and the juxtaposition is awkward with the (harsh) vocals trying to keep things together.

By then, it feels a little as though the band have run low on ideas, An Ode to the Conqueror especially having the air of repeating previous tricks. It's a curiously low-key ending to an album that seems to be constantly promising pyrotechnics, almost definitely meaning much more to its creator/s than it will to the average listener. Quite peculiar, as a whole, but quite interesting. Somewhere between Santana and Morbus Chron, when all is said and done? Less than both, definitely not going to appeal to all, and even those who it does appeal to will recognise its faults, yet it's still worth a listen for fans of classic rock guitar heroics.