“Incandescence was formed in 2011 by Philippe Boucher (formerly of First Fragment, now permanent drummer of Beyond Creation) who handles the songwriting and instrumentation. Vocals are performed by Louis-Paul Gauvreau, who took over duties in 2018 from Francis Desrochers. Despite its background in tech-death, Incandescence plays a form of no-frills ‘deathened black metal.'” Light up the darkness with death.
“Before the podium this week is the debut from Wisconsin’s Aronious, a prog/tech death outfit with impressive chops and no lack of ambition. Across Perspicacity, Aronious can’t relax, and nor can they yield, relent, or… uh… Anyway, they’ve heard every tech death band and will pretend to be all of them.” Pretensions to the throne.
“After The Aura catapulted them up to the front of the tech death field, Beyond Creation have enjoyed continued success based on a surprisingly small oeuvre and touring with seemingly continuous regularity both as support and as a headliner. They took the success in stride, releasing Earthborn Evolution three years after the debut and capitalizing on the record’s fusion influence to produce an even more dynamic live show. Three records in, Algorythm tweaks the approach once more, producing a brooding and grandiose expanse that’s as honest in its execution as in its pretensions.” Just how pretentious is it?
“I’m surprised so many people are there early enough to see Exist, especially given that the show started at seven. Presumably, I also missed Anisoptera before them, since I will later find one of their shirts in the pit during Obscura’s set. That doesn’t matter so much to me; I’m here for the first show of what is likely the best tech death tour that the US will see for a decade, hand picked by the big shots in Obscura. Beyond Creation, Inferi, and tucked into the middle, Archspire. What a time to be alive.” Death in Oakland.
“Since the label’s inception, The Artisan Era has been edging into Unique Leader’s territory like it’s the South China Sea. With Inferi, Augury, and a slew of up-and-coming tech-death acts under its thumb, the label has established an ear for quality in an overindulgent niche. And as much as The Artisan Era’s output tends towards the frilly, keyboards-and-synth-orchestra side of the genre, I’m still keen to hear from their bands, and Washington’s Aethereus have my attention.” Absentia makes the heart grow brutal.
“In the past I’ve been guilty of turning my nose up at anything that could even remotely be considered “Christian metal.” The fact is – my own theistic opinions aside – this has left me unavailable to enjoy some fantastic music; a mistake I was not planning on making with Orlando’s Monotheist and their inaugural full-length, Scourge.” Death and the hereafter.
“Before Beyond Creation, there was Augury. At the tail end of the 2000s, the Quebeckers were at the forefront of the proggy side of tech-death along with Anata and Obscura, and their 2009 LP Fragmentary Evidence is a too-often overlooked milestone in the genre – perhaps because so many contemporary tech death albums (Cosmogenesis, Those Whom the Gods Detest, Oracles, Everything is Fire) were just as good and bore follow-up releases. Yes, for a long time it seemed that Augury had been outright replaced by Beyond Creation, who snatched the torch of Montreal’s world-class tech death scene, but a bit shy of a decade later, here we are with Illusive Golden Age.” Back from the tech-dead.
![Redemptor – Arthaneum [Things You Might Have Missed 2017]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Redemptor-Arthaneum1.jpg)
“By technical death metal standards, Arthaneum is an odd but compelling beast that stands-out by operating outside the box, while holding all the trademarks avid listeners of the style have come to expect. The intricate and complex musicianship impresses in all departments, but there’s a more measured, controlled approach, rather than purely focusing on unrelenting barrages of speed and cramming as many notes and ideas into each song as humanly possible.” There’s no place like tech-death for the holidays.
“Firsts. Life’s full of ’em. Some are wonderful, such as the proverbial first kiss, or the first time you heard (or wrote about!) heavy metal. Some are horrible, such as the Drew Music-al first kiss, or the first time you heard Good Charlotte. A band’s first album can fall anywhere within this spectrum, and with their future depending on that first impression, the importance of debut albums cannot be overstated. This being said, let me prepare your future selves to remember the first time you ever heard Nostoc.” First shot at glory.
“To get the name dropping out of the way, if you’re a fan of Misery Index, Blotted Science or The Faceless then, chances are, you’ll enjoy the kind of technical death metal that Amentia are offering.” Crank the wank.
