Technical Death Metal

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    Obscura – Akróasis (2016)

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    Brilliantly returning with eight highly intricate tracks, today we have Obscura and their latest acrobatic effort “Akróasis”. Featuring completely new line-up since last release, Steffen Kummerer manages to again gather a stellar group of musicians and delivers another Obscura-quality release. If you like Technical/Progressive Death Metal, we highly doubt that there will be a better album in 2016.

    Opening with the brilliant “Sermon of the Seven Suns”, we instantly notice that the band’s trademark sound is intact and yet it feels slightly evolved with cleaner and melodic passages. The playful back-and-forth between instruments is insanely well crafted making songs like the opener and the heavier “The Monoist” (among others) sound amazingly elaborate and tricky. The vocal effects of songs like “Ten Sepiroth” give the band a certain Cynic edge. Additionally this track features some killer bass guitar sections.

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    Fleshgod Apocalypse – King (2016)

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    Hailing from Italy, today we have one-man dream machine Neutra and its latest hypnotic opus “Music for an Exhibition”. Delivering five tracks of superb ethereal music, this is one of the most engaging and transforming Ambient releases we have heard in a while. Evoking the delicate precision and ambiance created by Robert Rich, this Italian band manages to captivate for the complete duration of this release.

    The album kicks off with the angelic “After The Flood” and its very dramatic piano sections. Having very subtle mood changes, this opener tracks sets a very enigmatic and dreamy stage. Continuing with the playful “Paranthenogenesis”, the mood shifts to a more space-like cinematic vibe. Our personal favorite is the somber “Point of View” and its dramatic progression.

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    Nile – What Should Not Be Unearthed (2015)

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    Making 2015 even more brutal than it already is, today we have the legendary Nile returning with yet another punishing release via “What Should Not Be Unearthed”. Karl Sanders and company return with their signature Technical/Brutal Death Metal with Egyptian influences and deliver around 50 minutes of uncompromising brutality that will ravage your eardrums from start to finish.

    Opening with the monumental “Call to Destruction”, the band quickly delivers the first blow of furious riffs and crushing drumming. The band is set on a path of destruction with this release being considerably more brutal than their previous one. The sound of tracks like “Negating the Abominable Coils of Apep” and the ravaging “Liber Stellae – Rubaeae”, is quite heavier and more in the Brutal Death Metal side of things when comparing it to the band’s previous release “At the Gate of Sethu”.

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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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