The Beast of Nod - Multiversal (2021)

Mixing up Technical Death Metal with Progressive and ‘Video Game’ Metal elements, today we have a very intense and exciting band from the USA called The Beast of Nod. With comparisons to bands like Dethklok, Powerglove, and similar outfits, “Multiversal” delivers over 50 minutes of playful high-octane music that is extremely technically proficient, fun, and greatly engaging.

Opening with the magical “Flight of the Quetzalcoatlus”, we instantly get that Proggy/Techy vibe with intricate guitars, crafty drumming and playful tempo changes. The vocal styles vary between growls and shrieks, allowing for the music to change moods and intensity quite nicely, as the jazzy “Contemporary Calamity” showcases.

Perfectly blending technical wizardry with intricate songwriting, songs like “Intergalactic War!” and “Call of the Squirrel” showcase the band’s quality and unique style. One thing that is greatly enjoyable is the band not taking things too seriously, particularly with song names like the latter. The band nicely enriches their sound with epicness as more symphonic arrangements are exploited on songs like “Unleashing Chaos”, “Guardians of the Multiverse”, and the bombastic “The Plan for Multiversal Creation”.

Oozing creativity and very dynamic songwriting, The Beast of Nod is far from being just ‘technical wankery’ as many bands in these genres tend to fall into. There is real substance and playfulness to all tracks, making them enjoyable listening experiences with high replay value as there are always little new details to discover the more and more you listen to them. Overall, “Multiversal” is one hell of a creative and fun release that almost any metalhead would greatly enjoy.

Label: Self-Released

Release: March 29th, 2021

Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal

Country: USA