Technical death metal – Page 40

Inanimate Existence – A Never-Ending Cycle of Atonement (Review)

Inanimate Existence are a Technical Death Metal band from the US.

An exotic intro and equally exotic album cover set the scene for this otherworldly adventure in brutality and technical wizardry.

Long songs and fretwork dexterity are the order of the day here, although the band never lose sight of the aggression and brutality that is the hallmark of Death Metal.

A good sound means that all of this frenetic widdling can be appreciated and the drums are punishing, proficient but not overpowering. I mustn’t neglect the bass either, as it’s actually audible and has a part to play in these tracks. There are also some shredding solos and leads.

The singer’s vocals growl and grunt like a windswept vortex causing destruction wherever it goes.

Slower parts occasionally appear, allowing the band to show restraint and to maximise the moments of atmosphere they foster. They also experiment with percussion, lighter moments, Progressive Metal and even some female vocals. These parts enhance the songs making them more than they might otherwise be, as well as stopping them becoming too repetitive or predictable.

The songs are highly enjoyable and expertly crafted.

Top quality.

Defilementory – The Dismal Ascension (Review)

Defilementory are from Denmark and play Brutal/Technical Death Metal.

The album starts with a melodically-brutal intro that shows off some sludgy riffs with frenetic blasting drums. It’s an unusual piece and a welcome turn of events to the usual lacklustre album intros that a lot of bands peddle.

As the album unfolds it becomes clear that the intro is no mere anomaly and Defilementory are a band who are not afraid to throw in some more experimental riffs and atypical sections to their songs. Taking cues from an unholy mixture of bands like Gorguts and Severe Torture, this is a seamless blend of Technical Death Metal and wanton Brutality.

Atmospheric riffs rub shoulders with heavier, chugging sections whilst the drums and bass gel everything together into a rotting mass of putrid gore.

Bands like this are a joy to listen to as they’re taking the standard Death Metal template and invigorating it with good ideas; it sounds fresh yet at the same time staying true to what Death Metal is all about.

The singer is no slouch either; as the band riff and heave their way around the savagery he produces a very satisfying deep growl.

Sometimes the technicality/experimentation gets in the way of the actual song, but rather than this be a fatal flaw it merely refocusses the attention so that the atmosphere and mood of the tracks become more important than traditional song structures. This becomes even more apparent on subsequent spins; the warped melodies and twisted structures come into their own as you become more familiar with the material.

Defilementory have produced an interesting, ambitious and enjoyable record. May they continue on this darkened path less-travelled for many an album to come.

Favourite Track: The Mask of Anatomy. The different influences click perfectly into place on this.

Redemptor – The Jugglernaut (Review)

This is the second album from Polish Technical Death Metallers Redemptor.

A brief Classical intro segues into frenetic technical mayhem with blastbeats, guitar craziness and harsh growls dominating the airwaves.

The band are controlled chaos with lots of ideas and sounds harnessed into their arsenal of impressive musical wizardry.

Take a band like Gorguts as your starting point, throw in a bit of Iniquity and Meshuggah and the starting blueprints are in place for a band who are not destined for mediocrity.

They have a skilled drummer and the songs are very percussive. The remaining musicians are also suitably talented and if it wasn’t for a good grasp of dynamics and some well thought out songwriting the songs could easily collapse in on themselves in a frenzy of technicality; this is avoided though by judicious use of restraint and energetic riffs.

They allow a bit of Jazzy, seemingly free-form experimentation to creep in on occasion, although I imagine it’s far more thought-through than it sounds. It does the trick though.

Quality Death Metal with depth and character.

http://redemptor.8merch.com/the_jugglernaut_digital_version-id4378

Hybris – Blinded Thoughts (Review)

Polish band Hybris have just recently released their début EP – this is 18 minutes of Thrash-tinged Death Metal.

The first track Amnesia is the longest of the three and starts with a soft atmospheric intro that builds into a nice Thrash riff.

The songs are memorable and well-executed slabs of Thrash/Death, with a strong Old-School feel to the recording and aura of the EP.

I hear a good amount of influence from bands like Death. In fact this is the main comparator I’m reminded of; Death with a technical Thrash makeover. Other influences come into the songs as well though, such as the Egyptian vibe on Egyptian Darkness.

The music is crisp and technical but without sacrificing the song itself. The sound is precise and even the bass can be heard in a meaningful way.

There are lots of solos and leads; the band can certainly play but it’s not showboating or self-aggrandisement, just a sheer love of Metal and the demands of the song.

A most enjoyable EP that introduces Hybris to the world and promises great things for the band.

Frontal – Death Eaters (Review)

Frontal are from France and play Techincal/Progressive Modern Death Metal.

Imagine Meshuggah if they had more of a Modern Death Metal influence; add in a bit of Technical Thrash and this is the area that Frontal inhabit.

The songs are technical, angular and also remind of Devolved only without the Industrial influence, (and blast beats). Another description I suppose would be Progressive Deathcore, which sounds like an oxymoron, but only if you assume all Deathcore is stupid, (it isn’t).

The colliding riffs and obscure melodies will no doubt put some people off, but just as many will take to this easily and lap up the heavy, militaristic Technical Thrash that the band offer.

The vocalist has a good pair of lungs and for the most part spends his time using them to shout out lyrics in a throaty roar.

This is music that lacks subtlety but is still nuanced and complex. Although the riffs come thick and fast the band allow them to congeal on occasion to produce a stirring section or emotive passage, before fracturing once more and falling away in different directions all at once.

Definitely a grower. A good album that will probably suffer from premature dismissal by a lot of people, which is a shame as there is a lot to like here. Give them the time to show you what they can do.

Pillory – Evolutionary Miscarriage (Review)

This is the second album by US band Pillory who play Brutal Technical Death Metal.

Fast, intricate and brutal; welcome to the world of Pillory. It’s a colourful world populated by an over-abundance of riffs and ideas, with spikes of melody and angular guitar heroics rushing to save the day.

The vocals are mainly gruff shouts but are varied in places with the singer showing he’s capable of more than just straight bellowing into the microphone.

The songs are busy entities with a lot being crammed into every second. If this was all the band did it would be impressive enough, but what’s really impressive is their ability to show restraint when needed. Sometimes you don’t need a million separate things happening at once; sometimes less is more and Pillory seem to know this as they also have entire sections in their songs where they allow a riff or idea to stabilise and develop for a little while before it once again mutates and goes off in a hundred new directions.

For this reason Evolutionary Miscarriage scores higher than a lot of Technical Death Metal as there’s more to it than just insane time signature changes or deranged guitar wizardry; yes they have giant bucketfuls of both but they also know about pacing and dynamics, which are far more important when it comes to longevity and depth of composition.

If you’re a fan of non-standard Death Metal then this is a creative and exploratory album that should suit you well.

Konkeror – The Abysmal Horizons (Review)

Konkeror are a Death Metal band from the US.

This is their début album, almost 49 minutes of music – 8 originals and a Bolt Thrower cover.

When it starts it’s immediately impressive with the sheer musicality and flowing riffs; then the brutality kicks in and everything shifts up a gear.

Konkeror merge Death Metal with a Progressive/Thrash influence that allows the songs to have technical flourishes and melodic edges concurrently occupying the same space.

The songs are catchy and have lots of hooks, proving that just because a song might be Brutal or Technical doesn’t mean it has to sacrifice song structures in order to be so.

The recording perfectly balances a band that play both brutally heavy and subtly melodic. Everything sounds great and the sound allows the musicians the freedom to do what they do best.

The most enjoyable thing about this album is just how Metal it is; they are clearly Death Metal but add sprinklings of Progressive, Technical and Thrash Metal into the melting pot. Mix these all up with some great songwriting skills and all that’s left to do is sit back an enjoy as the band shred, rip and dazzle with the songs.

The songs are all of a decent enough length so that you have time to get your teeth into them, (or the other way around…), and there’s abundant opportunities for the band to demonstrate just how good they are.

Once you know about this album it’s important that you get it. If you’re into Death Metal and don’t get this album…well…I’m not sure how that’s possible…

Brilliant.

Beneath – The Barren Throne (Review)

Beneath are from Iceland and this is their second album of Brutal/Technical Death Metal.

Uncompromising and vicious; Beneath play their Death Metal like it’s the end of the world. The devastation shown on their album cover is perfectly replicated by their music which takes no prisoners at all.

It’s unsubtle and crushing but the band do make room for a few nuanced riffs in amongst the chaos. They use darkened melodies to enhance the tracks and play some good solos/leads when they’re not hammering the Hell out of their instruments. Brutal it may be, but the odd flashes of melody and intrigue show that the band are willing to raise their game and be more than just brutal for brutal’s sake.

Inventive riffs create an atmosphere of technical turmoil and the band are in full control of the disarray they are sowing and the carnage they have unleashed. Beneath have an intuitive grasp of dynamics and the songs on this album have a good deal of variety, pace and ideas for an album of this genre. Just look at a song like Sky Burial – almost 8 minutes of pure class.

The sound is sharp and tight, as are the band themselves who all put in a stellar performance.

This is the type of deeply satisfying Death Metal that you can feel all the way down to your marrow. It connects in ways that other styles of music just don’t.

The Barren Throne awaits…

Deformatory – In The Wake of Pestilence (Review)

In The Wake of Pestilence is the début album from Canada’s Deformatory.

Deformatory play Technical Death Metal and they play it well.

The songs are heavy and blur by in a dazzle of intricate technicality and blasting drums. They don’t forgo a decent bit of melody when necessary either though, although other times the emphasis is firmly on pure fretboard brutality.

These Canadians have taken the blueprint drawn up by bands like Cryptopsy and Yattering and from these plans created their own castle of Death Metal impenetrability.

The musicianship is first rate and the playing may be technical but it doesn’t smother the soul of the band; the songs have intricate but involving structures. The band know when to simplify things as well, as sometimes you just need to feel the guitars!

The vocalist is a guttural joy to listen to; deeply satisfying and deeply bowel-loosening. He has a very impressive voice.

This is an excellent example of Technical Death Metal done right. Listen to Deformatory.

Nihil – Nights of Silence (Review)

Nihil are from Spain and play Technical Progressive Death Metal.

The band give us a collection of relatively long tracks with a good sound and some twisting riffs to help propel the songs along.

Although undeniably heavy, brutality is not the main focus of Nihil’s assault. Instead they attack a bit slower, and from unexpected directions. Some of the riffs betray a slight Black Metal influence, while others are just nicely restrained, content to let the melodies do the talking.

It’s an approach that is freshly creative and frees the band up from a lot of standard genre restrictions that they might otherwise be plagued by.

Frozen Hope, the second longest song on the album, is a good example of this. It starts out quite brutal with a sound not unlike Behemoth but progresses into other heavy soundscapes, including parts that remind of Gorguts and Opeth on occasion.

Good musicianship helps the songs live up to their potential, and all of the various parts deliver as they should.

A quality release from a talented band that need support. Add them to your playlists today.