Technical Death Metal

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    Pestifer – Reaching the Void (2014)

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    Greatly improving from their 2010 debut release, today we have Belgium’s Pestifer and their sophomore effort “Reaching the Void”. In a scene as competitive as Technical Death Metal, there are always bands that are clearly better than the ‘known alternatives’ and one of those is Pestifer. Cranking out nine brutal hyperactive headbanging anthems, this album will blow you away since the first song.

    Showing their insane musical skills since the opener, “Witness of the Loss”, the band demonstrates immense improvement since their previous release. Filled with hateful growls, acrobatic riffing and sick bass guitar lines, the album demolishes its way through tracks like “Exiled to the Abyss”, “Tree of Thorns” and the personal favorite “Abominations”. It is immediately evident that the dual guitar onslaughts by Antoine Paterka and Emerson Devresse will be responsible for multiple sore necks.

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    Dichotomy – Paradigms (2013)

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    Hailing from Ireland, today we have a killer Melodic/Technical Death Metal band that leaves aside (most) of the Core influences and manages to sound more like Death and Carcass than all the other Technical DM bands these days. Delivering eight pummeling tracks, “Paradigms” is a very impressive debut full-length than if it wasn’t for the subpar vocals, it would be one of the best Tech-DM releases of 2013.

    Opening with the mellow instrumental track “Empyrean”, the band immediately gets down to business with the hectic “The Sentient Oppressed”. The guitar work is fast and precise with a crushing melodic vibe that nicely picks up the pace and complements the vocals. While not the best combination of growls and screams, the band does a decent job in delivering fast and brutal sections like on the devastating “All – Seeing Eye”.

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    Fleshgod Apocalypse – Labyrinth (2013)

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    Bigger, better, quicker, and more grandiose seems to be the objective of Fleshgod Apocalypse and their monumental release “Labyrinth”. Having blown people away with the combination of dramatic orchestrations and extreme technical abilities in “Agony”, the band is ready to deliver an even more impressive and monumental release with this album.

    The album kicks off with dramatic operatic vocal arrangements and over the top orchestrations on “Kingborn”. This single opening makes the last Dimmu Borgir album sound like a bunch of kids playing with Protools. In this track the band also delivers their signature Technical Death Metal with hyper fast riffs and killer drumming. “Minotaur (The Wrath of Poseidon)” eases into the picture with a more standard approach featuring killer growls mixed into the rich sound of the band. Don’t be fooled since there are also plenty of memorable melodic passages mixed in between all the brutal sections and lush arrangements.

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    Suffocation – Pinnacle of Bedlam (2013)

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    Aging perfectly with time, today we have Death Metal legends Suffocation and their latest opus “Pinnacle of Bedlam”. As one of the first bands to mix technical elements into Brutal Death Metal, the band continues refining their skills and delivers ten killer tracks that put all the copycat kiddies to shame. For over 38 minutes, this release is guaranteed to rock you off your seat and induce a headbanging trance immediately.

    Wasting no time, “Cycles of Suffering” explodes with crunchy riffs and crazy guitar leads all packed around hyper fast drumming and powerful deep growls. With Terrance Hobbs and Guy Marchais leading the riffing attack, “Purgatorial Punishment” is the quintessential Suffocation track that will immediately make your head start spinning with its raw power and unparalleled catchiness.

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    Cardiac Necropsy - Shayateen (2012)

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    Making its way from Singapore, today we have Cardiac Necropsy and their killer second full-length release “Shayateen”. Delivering 11 tracks of neck breaking Death Metal, this band features a crushing Death Metal sound that is very well developed and creates very groovy tracks. With a stellar production, this release is one of the best DM albums we have received from unsigned bands.

    After the typical intro, the band blasts away with “Abaddon Earth”, a very powerful and engaging track. The growls are pretty solid, but the catchy riffing is what makes this song quite appealing. Moving forward with “Doomsday Architect”, we can hear the excellent drumming perfectly carry this groove-infused song. With tons of tempo changes and intricate guitar work, the band carves their own sound very creatively while staying true to the genre.

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    Sentence – Everywhere (2012)

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    Making its way from France, today we have Sentence and their very crafty Progressive Death Metal. In their first full-length release “Everywhere”, the band delivers 13-tracks of brilliantly crafted technical music in the vein of Death and Cynic, but with a modern air to them. We are quite pleased with this release since it is not that often when you get a band that claims to play like Death or Cynic and they can actually pull it off graciously.

    After a warm-up intro, “Birth” delivers intricate guitar structures and deep growls. This track reminds us a bit of Obscura, but with a higher emphasis on the melodic side of things rather than playing millions of notes per song. The nice pace of this song allows the band to fully explore their technical abilities while sounding interesting and not overdone, something that Cynic does to perfection. In the powerful “Solitude”, the band has really warmed up and delivers a faster paced track that will blow you away with its very unique ending. Featuring a surprise element that never expected to listen in a song of this type, the band really set the bar high on this one.

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    Ophidian I – Solvet Saecium (2012)

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    Hailing from Iceland, today we have the latest entry into the newly popular (again) world of Technical Death Metal. With “Solvet Secium” as their debut release, this Icelandic band sure has a solid statement to make through crazy guitar sections, hyper-fast drumming, and thunderous growls. For all of us that are not fed up with the countless Obscura, Necrophagist, Spawn of Possession, etc. replica bands that have popped out in the last few years, Ophidian I is a highly respectable entry into the genre.

    Opening with a very Obscura-esque bass guitar wizardry on “Mark of an Obsidian”, the band’s musical journey begins with a very well balanced brutality-meets-technical-magic song. The growling is hellish and the furious drumming is just brutal as fuck. “Shedyet” keeps the magic rolling with an eerily familiar melodic section that any fan of Technical DM will recognize. This is one of the few problems with have with “Solvet Saecium”, while there are very cool and highly-technical section, there are also a lot of things that feel ripped off straight from Obscura and the previously mentioned bands, taking away from the band’s merit.

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    Job for a Cowboy – Demonocracy (2012)

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    The constantly morphing Job for a Cowboy (JFAC) have taken 4 years between full-length releases and with “Demonocracy” they keep getting closer and closer to the Technical Death Metal genre with this release. Many people give shit to this band from leaving the Deathcore category, but their slow transition has been quite interesting and something to admire since they are bringing with them plenty of fans that otherwise would never dabble with Tech DM bands.

    Opening with the commanding “Children of Deceit”, the band makes a huge statement with its brutal and technical approach. The drumming is furious, the riffing is very well crafted, and the bass guitar track is almost up to par to something that Jeroen Paul Thesseling (Pestilence, ex-Obscura) would come up with. The ups and downs in this song are very well crafted and don’t feel too Deathcore-ish to us.

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    Hour of Penance – Sedition (2012)

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    With a massive and destructive sound, today we have Hour of Penance and their latest release “Sedition”. Waiving the Technical Brutal Death Metal flag, Hour of Penance delivers high intensity brutal music with a nice technical edge that puts them over their closest competition. While not as technical as Obscura, Decrepit Birth, and similar band, this release compensates with intense drumming and a more brutal feel to the music.

    After the opening instrumental, the band delivers its first punch with “Enlightened Submission”, a very brutal and crushing opening song. The growls are as deep and brutal as you can get, but the massive drumming is what immediately sticks out. “Decimate the Ancestry of the Only God” and “Fall of the Servants” keep pummeling your ears with insane levels of brutality, thanks to the hellish vocals and powerful riffs that accompany the extreme drumming.

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    Gory Blister – Earth-Sick (2012)

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    Making their contribution to the highly exciting Technical Death Metal scene, today we have Italy’s Gory Blister and their latest full-length release “Earth-Sick”. With a name more apt for a Grindcore band, this Italian band took us by surprise with their high energy songs and blistering drumming. Deliver 10 tracks of well executed music, this band will surely make some noise in this very crowded genre.

    Opening with the deceiving “The Breeding (intro)” track, we thought we will reviewing a Melodic Power Metal album instead. However, with “Earthsick” things get down and dirty with some heavy riffing and intense growls. The band style borders between Melodic DM and Technical DM with some very impressive speed ups, but never as intense and powerful as bands like Obscura and Spawn of Possession.

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