Artist: Dismal Lapse
Title: Eon Fragmentation
Type: Album
Label: Deep Send

It seems as of late (and quite astonishingly), that there has been an influx of bands producing some mind-bogglingly technical death metal. Whereas this ilk of playing used to be few and far between, fans of the genre no doubt feel inundated by a lot of wankery, most of which fails to hit any mark whatsoever. So whilst everyone is busy separating the wheat from the chaff, it can be said with some degree of certainty that Dismal Lapse come pretty darn close to being on the money with this release, their first full-length album. Departing from their previous sound on the EP ‘The Nameless Faceless’, as well as material under the moniker Bled, this sacrifices a little bit of speed and anger for something far more musically accomplished. There will of course be the detractors who wish to keep any form of talent out of the genre (and you can probably guess how I feel about those), but this is half an hour plus of some of the most chaotic brilliance out there.

One of the greatest facets to Dismal Lapse is the way in which, although things are completely barmy, the music always seems to fit into a coherent whole, which is often a stumbling block for bands like this. Fans of newer Decrepit Birth, Severed Saviour and Necrophagist will no doubt be at home with the twiddling and widdling of Evan Gravatt, and furthermore, will applaud to the fantastic production we have on offer – heck, we can even hear Jason Brehm’s bass! A plethora of highlights include the groove-laden ‘U-235’, and sporadic ‘The Light That Casts No Shadows’, the technicality of which makes one wonder how Chris Barnum can drum and grunt at the same time in a live environment. There is the odd mellow moment too, with ‘Beyond The Endless’ exhibiting a Cynic-like jazzed down tempo.

Talented, intelligent, heavy and almost unique – at least it’s fair to say it’s the best of a bunch of bands all attempting the same goal; that being to produce the most complex, yet altogether interesting death metal out there. Fans of the genre will definitely be picking this up…followed no doubt by their jaw!

http://www.myspace.com/dismallapse

James Young

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