Annihilation are a Portugese progressive death metal band and this is their second album.
Starting off with their debut album of enjoyable Deicide worship Against the Storm, Annihilation returned a few years ago with a different, more complex direction on The Undivided. Continue reading
Fragarak are an Indian progressive death metal band and this is their second album.
We first met Fragarak on their 2013 album Crypts of Dissimulation. Well, we’ve been waiting a long time for a follow up release, and now it’s here, it’s quite the monster. Continue reading
This is the third album from Archspire, a technical death metal band from Canada.
If insane technicality is your thing, but you also want your songs to be recognisable as such, then you should definitely check out the latest scorcher from Archspire. Continue reading
Duality are a technical death metal band from Italy and this is their debut album.
Duality mix death metal with technical complexity, jazz interludes, and progressive workouts. Think a mix of Death, Obscura, and The Faceless. Continue reading
Integral are an Italian death metal/deathcore band and this is their debut album.
This is one for fans of modern aggression that mixes technical, brutal, and melodic death metal with elements of deathcore. This would be enough in its own right – but what’s this? We also get Continue reading
Moss upon the Skull are a death metal band from Belgium and this is their debut EP.
This is atypical progressive death metal. This is the type of band that are great to hear.
Rather than sticking to the standard genre tropes, they have decided to play death metal their own way on their own terms. Continue reading
This is the second album by US technical death metallers Replacire.
I always enjoy a new techdeath release, especially when you never really know what you’re going to get when you press play.
In its dark heart this is a highly aggressive and Continue reading
This is The Ritual Aura’s second album. They are an Australian technical death metal band.
Well, hold on to your hat, because you won’t be expecting this.
The Ritual Aura’s 2015 debut album Laniakea was a favourite of mine. At only 26 minutes in length it was a supremely enjoyable blast of cutting-edge death metal. Tæther is, to say the least, a lot more ambitious, lasting over 70 minutes in length. In many ways this seems like a different band altogether. Continue reading
Azooma are a death metal band from Iran. This is their debut album.
This is progressive death metal that sees the band upping their game from their already quite impressive debut release A Hymn of a Vicious Monster. The Act of Eye continues and refines their style, mixing Opeth and Death with elements of more modern bands such as Obscura, Gorod and Gorguts. Continue reading
Job for a Cowboy are a US Death Metal band and this is their fourth album.
On this release Job for a Cowboy have refined their Death Metal further, adding a progressive sheen to their technical assault. Ambitious and bold, this is a game-changing release for the band in many ways, demonstrating that they are willing to do what it takes to reinvent themselves on their own terms.
The solid and modern Death Metal core of the band remains, but on Sun Eater this is complemented by additional ideas and different flourishes to what they have tried before, including nicely wandering basslines and progressive Metal explorations that truly flesh out their sound more than in the past. On Sun Eater it seems they have really pushed the envelope with their experimentation.
It’s really good to see a band that are not content to stay the same with every release; while still retaining their own identity the band have moved forwards with their style and embraced a more Death/Cynic aspect in addition to what they have previously done. This enhanced songwriting is apparent throughout this album.
The songs are complex, varied, layered and have a lot going on. Entwined melodies and eccentric grooves create all manner of intriguing soundscapes. The bass, which is always something I love to hear, is a major player in the band’s updated sound.
Note should also be made of their singer. Although he’s always had a charismatic growl, his performance on Sun Eater is probably his most diverse and enjoyable yet, with his growls and screams being flawlessly delivered and well-judged. His engaging vocal rhythms remain intact, even though the music has morphed and mutated around them.
Due to the above, Sun Eater offers less instant gratification than its predecessors, but repeated spins shows this to be a positive thing as the album grows on you like a plague, (in a good way).
Having successfully fully transitioned to this new progressive Death Metal style, this album is hugely impressive.
For fans of Obscura, Gorguts and the like, this is damn near essential.
