When imagining "instrumental metal," in the abstract, two options stand out most strongly to me: first, prog instrumentals, built to showcase the performers' technical mastery, or second, more straightforward compositions either for soloing over or with an almost video gamey type of repetition. kiyohime's Anno Domini, however, presents a less-common incarnation: a collection of pieces which simultaneously feel song-like enough that one could imagine a vocalist easily being slotted into the tracks as-is while never in any way feeling like the lack of a vocalist is a deficiency or a gap that should be filled.
The project's Bandcamp page describes their style as "focusing on an eclectic range of metal subgenres," which is an accurate descriptor but does warrant some clarification: while there were elements of death metal, metalcore, power metal, and occasionally others such as prog, black, or industrial metal, it's less a blend and more a seamless contrasting; as an analogy, it's a mille-feuille, not a sponge cake. It is also, while stylistically eclectic, a remarkably focused album with the broad strokes of the arrangements and structures staying fairly consistent between most of the tracks. The majority of the album's tracks revolve around two or so monumentally heavy riffs, given variety by shifting the phrasing or drum patterns each time along with a generous supply of breakdowns and atmospheric interludes. The best point of reference that I can think of offhand is that it feels akin to Petriform, but built around conventional metal instrumentation.
The album's opening track, "Phobos Recedes," opens with an atmospheric segment that gives a good sense of space and patience despite lasting for only a few seconds before transitioning to a pair of heavy riffs. At under a minute in length, it is very much an intro, but it does give a good (if incomplete) picture of what listeners are in for stylistically. The second track, "Weight Of Existence," starts with a massive riff reinforced by a quiet, droning synth texture for more space. The synth lead that comes in is a bit further in the mix back than I would expect ordinarily expect, but its harsh, tremolo-heavy tone lets it cut through the mix just fine while staying subtle enough to add to the track's textural landscape.
On the topic of the mix, while they are incredibly clear and crisp-sounding, the drums are somewhat too loud for my liking. That said, it's not something that ruins my enjoyment of the album, and "the drums are too loud" is one of the most commonly-encountered issues with mixing on indie/DIY releases as I understand it.
Next is my personal favorite track of the album, "Pale Engine," which opens with an atmospheric soundscape that feels like it's building to something but isn't so obvious about it that it distracts from itself. Eventually the guitar comes in with a triplet-feeling riff, followed by a brilliant synth lead that has a perfect balance of tension, atmosphere, and cohesive melodic identity. About halfway through is a brief hazy-sounding interlude with a nice electric piano line that as a whole is almost reminiscent of Melos Han-Tani's soundtrack work. Following a guitar-centric buildup, the synth lead from the first segment returns in a moment that feels surprisingly cathartic and energizing for something with such a dark tone.
"God-Shaped Cavity" opens with a fast descending guitar riff that is eventually mimicked by the synth. This one has multiple relatively melodically-focused quiet sections before eventually building to an almost hypnotic-feeling repetition of another huge riff. This is probably a good time to point out that the quiet/melodic/atmospheric breaks on this album are really good. In a lot of metal-centered settings those sorts of sections feel tacked-on or unimportant, but here they are intentional, well-written, and placed at intervals that very effectively give breaks from the otherwise-constant onslaught of riffing.
On to the second half of the album, "Titan's Ribcage" immediately continues the intensity of the previous tracks. Somewhat different here is that the higher synths feel more like an internal component of the overall mix rather than a lead. Next up is "Mercury In The Womb," a calm within the storm that opens with an ambient soundscape before repeating an electric piano figure over a sparse, atmospheric beat.
"Iron Liturgy" opens with another dinosaur mode riff accompanied by an ominous high synth line that keeps slightly mutating texturally to keep a feeling of suspense while staying consistent in its content. The guitars on this one keep getting more dissonant as the piece progresses, and the overall feel has a level of tiredness and desperation that turns up near the end of a number of classic prog albums; a way in which, while this album is definitely not prog as a genre descriptor, it does have some emotional landscape in common. The final track, "Unconsecrated Ground," starts with a synth bass segment before handing off to a patient, moody electronic section with ominous synth stabs.
Altogether, kiyohime's Anno Domini is an excellent collection of instrumental metal tracks built around massive guitar riffs and spiraling out into memorable synth melodies, crushing breakdowns, and beautiful soft interludes. The album is also the perfect length: long enough to establish its sonic identity and to elaborate on it (including in some unexpected directions), but not so long that it overstays its welcome.