“AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.”
Here we are, deep in the middle of the North American summer. California stumbles through swelter after swelter, Arizona is a constant hell, the South turns all shirts into wet rags. But down in the heart of Chile, Santiago’s own Neural Dissonance embrace cooling winds as the weather settles into a hibernal chill. Perhaps this calming of the blazing sun has left their fire too relaxed to upload their album for purchase on their Bandcamp page.1 Either way, Under a Rain of Senses, this young outfit’s debut, does not conjure the frosty bite of a snow-capped morning. Rather, its chunky groove and neoclassical interjections step outside the seasons and into a bellowing and thick-chested tech-inspired meditation. But can this ‘more is more’ journey into the deeper mind inspire our writers’ wheels to spin with the universe? Enter the groove tree. – Dolphin Whisperer
Neural Dissonance // Under a Rain of Senses [April 28th, 2023]
GardensTale: Under a Rain of Senses is certainly ambitious. There’s groove metal, melodic death metal, technical death metal and progressive song structures all fighting for attention. The main challenge, then, is cohesion, and as a band, Neural Dissonance certainly manages to deliver. The vocals, mainly hoarse but good quality groove-growls with lots of air, are dotted with layered cleans. The guitars underneath are in constant flux, switching from rapid riffs to sweeping solos at the drop of a hat. The drummer earns commendation for both precision and stamina, firing off long strings of blasts and quick time signature changes with equal skill. The production helps as well, with the forward bass an effective glue. But where the overall sound is quite cohesive, the songwriting is anything but, betraying a constant want of a guiding thread. I enjoy many individual passages, but even the least attention-deficit track, opener “No Way Back,” can’t hold my thrall as it leap-frogs between different ideas without much rhyme or reason. As such, the songs quickly blend together into a vaguely agreeable stockpile of roars, riffs and rapidly mixed drum techniques, where any sense of identity is only gleaned by contrasting sections (the gothic grandeur late in “Absorption” is a good example). If Neural Dissonance gets its songwriting troubles under control it can be a killer band, but this iteration just feels like my senses get pelted with a different precipitation every 8 bars. 2.5/5.0
Felagund: Unless you’re a true musical sadist, there isn’t much joy to be found in doling out a low score. This goes double when writing for the ‘ol Rodeö. As cynical as we often appear in our reviews, I think deep down, all us sniveling staffers just want to be pleasantly surprised by that next up-and-coming band. Enter Neural Dissonance, who are attempting to fulfill this lofty and unfair expectation with their debut album Under the Rain of Senses. And as the opening of this blurb may have indicated, my senses were not entirely pleased. It is undeniable that Neural Dissonance can deliver plenty of progressive technicality, some satisfying DM brutality, and a consistent and effective dual guitar attack. But for a band boasting five members, so much of Under the Rain of Senses feels…thin. While “No Way Back” hints at some intriguing dissonance, “Motion” features a memorable, recurring riff, and the bass delivers a stellar (and audible) performance throughout, so much else feels rudderless and meandering. Whether it’s more techy tracks like “Tied to Knowledge” or slower, more restrained fare like “L’appel Du Vide,” you’re almost guaranteed an atmospheric interlude, a breakdown, and an out-of-place spoken word section on almost every song. Add to this the truly unfortunate Godsmack-esque vocals and some related awkwardness in delivery, and I’m left with the impression that for all of their obvious talent, Neural Dissonance managed to write 49 minutes of variations on the same song. While I took little joy in this record, I take even less joy in the resulting score. 2.0/5.0
Dolphin Whisperer: Something old and something new, Neural Dissonance strikes an odd balance of finding a modern sound of dusty but not ancient influences. Rather than a direct Morbid Angel influence in the kind of forward-leaning groove that breaks into stumbling melodic runs (“Samsara,” “Motion”), Neural Dissonance strikes me with a later era collision of groovy yet heroic melodeath, like Arsis or Neuraxis. In comparison to the latter, specifically, Enzarro Dañobeitía (Deathbed) fills tracks like “No Way Back,” “Tied to Knowledge,” and “Extra-tempestrial” with brutal and varied harsh barks and gurgles that allow the tracks to escalate powerfully to breakdown. However, there are a lot of breakdowns here, and over the course of the nine proper tracks, the predictability of that trick wears off. “Absorption” and “Aokigahara” show that this act can break away into stronger anthemic passages when they allow the beautiful bass work to help weave more ethereal melodies into these dramatic pieces—an energy akin to early Gojira outings. All these moments shine with promise and talent with guitarist Roger Meirelles and bassist Isra Aguilar demonstrating unison sweep runs, contrapuntal tap runs, and standout solo moments throughout the whole of Under a Rain of Senses. Yet, much in the same way that modern acts like Widow’s Peak have a tough time distilling their virtuosic tendencies into consistently enjoyable tunes, Neural Dissonance blurs away. The path of growth under the Bodhi tree takes time though, so keep an eye on how these saplings may blossom. 2.5/5.0
Itchymenace: I’ll be honest. I keep putting this record on and when “No Way Back” kicks in I think: Yeah, I dig this. There are some nice, Lamb of God-type grooves going on. Then several songs go by, and I’ll zone out Then another song I like comes on and I think: Oh, I like this one too, which track is this? And then I’ll realize it’s “Aokigahara,” the last song. Where did the rest of the album go? I think there’s just too much tech-death guitar wankery going on for me. My senses end up under a rain of endless licks and arpeggios in a mix that’s so dense you need A.D.D.2 to process it all. Neural Dissonance are clearly a talented group of musicians but the sterility of the playing eclipses any emotional connection I glean from the songs. I can appreciate the guitar solo in “Samsara” and I love the bass solo in “Absorption” but the small moments don’t add up to a rewarding record. The singer has a good range of voices for this type of music. Sometimes he sounds like Phil Anselmo, other times he sounds a bit like Chuck Schuldiner. I get more emotion from his performance than many of his peers but it’s not enough to bring me in. I want to like this more than I do. 2.5/5.0
