Any band that boasts three guys from technical death metal’s originators Atheist is always going to be a monstrous listen. I’m not going to list who is involved but suffice to say the guys are complimented by a raging vocal beast who electrifies each song into dangerous uncontrolled beasts.
“Visceral” opens up with an obvious technical metal flavour though the bass is much heavier than I expected for this genre. The macho bellowing screams are distinctly modern as is the plethora of riffs and leads that the band has a knack for generating. “Isolate Gravity” has tons of bass kick and lightning fast riffs and in all honesty the song gives you good old fashioned death metal wallop though with a side swiping technical jab added for good measure. “Sleeping Ground” continues the walloping by injecting tons of bass and drums that make the track pulverisingly dense without drowning out any aspects of the guitar work. The bass work and drum fills are falsely peaceful as the song turns very nasty indeed towards the end.
A progressive stance appears on “Composition” as the instrumentation seems to be increasing with each song as is the number of tempo changes. The Cannibal Corpse inspired beginning to “Wall of Lies” is one of the heaviest on offer until the sudden change into a proggy style that left me bewildered yet smiling even if clean vocals are used. “Violent Calm” has a couple of Maiden like bass hooks whereas “Life Suffering” has groove and complexity in equal doses whilst managing to maintain a furious pace.
I found myself preferring the later songs on the album starting with “Corrosive”. The song is awash with riffs and melody and has a thrashier appeal overall. “Mindlock” has a cracking beat that continues the thrash side of things all complimented by the bass work and a drumming demolition. The unexpected change of pace has atmospheric guitar effects, rapid bass work and an excellent stop/start riff that has Death stamped all over it. Indeed Death traits run throughout this album like venom running through your veins. The album ends with the most brutal and relatively simpler song “Splinters Of Change”, which charges along like freight train. The heaviness is crushing in places yet the band still jazz the track up with complex rhythms.
There is so much going on here that multiple listens are sure to result in riffs I missed on previous listens but suffice to say this album is everything a technical death metal should be. The songs are flooded in riffs, drenched in solos, saturated by bass lines and swarming with intricate drum work and is a must for fans of Athiest (obviously), Death, Pestilence, Cynic, Cryptopsy, Necrophagist, Dying Fetus plus any other technical death metal outfit you want to name.
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