Lifeforms – Multidimensional (2013)

Hailing from the USA, today we have the debut full-length release Lifeforms, an up-and-coming Progressive Extreme Metal band that mixes influences from band like Meshuggah to Deathcore bands like The Black Dahlia Murder. With an emphasis of excellent technical skills and brutality, this band has constructed 10 excellent tracks that while a bit repetitive, are actually quite enjoyable.

Opening with the expectation builder “Descent into Madness”, the band starts warming up the riffing machine in this short intro. “Multidimensional” fully explodes with excellent Meshuggah styled guitar work and potent drumming. We love the technical aspect of things but they still sound a lot like Gojira and similar bands with that Progressive/Groove sound. The band’s extra similarities to bands like BDM and such Deathcore acts makes them sound more brutal than your average bands, gaining them extra points in our opinion.

Things start getting more interesting with the nicely paced “String Theory”, a track that features some cool effects and very crazy tempo changes. The band’s musical abilities are quite evident and they do a good job in crafting intricate songs that are crushing both in terms of brutality and technical proficiency. With a more direct and less ‘complex’ approach, “Reflections II” features very cool atmospheric elements and highly melodic passages. The clean vocals here might get the band some critics from the normal Core-haters, but we can say that they fit the music quite well.

As the album progresses, the band’s song do get a bit repetitive but they are still quite good and very well crafted. The vocals are quite powerful and they greatly enhance the level of brutality brought forth by the powerful guitar work and relentless drumming. We also like some the cool experimental elements thrown into the mix like the “Interlude” track and the funky atmospheric elements of “Home”. Overall, Lifeforms is indeed a very solid band and once they identify their own sound and craft more unique and diverse songs, they will surely be major players in their scene.

Release: March 28th, 2013

Genre: Progressive Extreme Metal

Country: USA