Technical Death Metal

Minipony – Ajna Review

Minipony – Ajna Review

By Doom_et_Al on June 23, 2022 in Reviews, Djent, Technical Death Metal, 88 comments

I’ve listened to a lot of metal. I’ve listened to a lot of very average metal. I’ve listened to some pretty bad metal. Despite all this, I was simply unprepared for Ajna. You see, Ajna is on another level entirely. True story: “Because of Ajna, I could not complete the train journey to work this week. It was halfway through my 5th listen when something cracked. “Why would the Boss Ape force this upon me?” I mused. “Is this a test of my loyalty?” If so, it was a stern examination. The pointless sound effects; the bizarre vocals; the bite-sized, jittery riffs; these all congealed into a force that simply overwhelmed my brain. I could no longer compute, and the only response was to laugh. So, I did. I howled and cackled and coughed up my coffee.” Small horse, big confusion.

Exocrine – The Hybrid Suns Review

Exocrine – The Hybrid Suns Review

By TheKenWord on June 20, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 39 comments

“Like so many other extreme metal acts, Exocrine crave evolution in their skills and sound. That being the case, it should come at no surprise that The Hybrid Suns abandons many of the stylistic choices that defined Maelstrom and Molten Giant while still respecting those albums’ imprint on the band’s career. Exocrine‘s compositions retain a similar sense of grandeur despite the stripped down instrumentation. The Hybrid Suns is also a heavier and noticeably more br00tal record.”Evolution of the wicked.

DeathFuckingCunt – Decadent Perversity Review

DeathFuckingCunt – Decadent Perversity Review

By Doom_et_Al on June 11, 2022 in Reviews, Technical Death Metal, 75 comments

“With a name like DeathFuckingCunt, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a well-done platter of slam was heading to your table. Surprisingly, the band is more subtle and nuanced (by death metal standards) than that. Decadent Perversity combines brutal death with technical death to form brutal-technical death metal. The difference between these guys and many contemporaries is that a delightful layer of grime lingers over their work.” Banned in the U.S.A.

Artificial Brain – Artificial Brain Review

Artificial Brain – Artificial Brain Review

By Dear Hollow on May 31, 2022 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 61 comments

“Artificial Brain, with or without intending it, has become the gold standard for modern death metal. Seamlessly blending earth-rumbling death metal with the raw edges and tines of black metal and adding a dissonant edge that embarks on voyages across dimensions, I knew I had bitten off more than I could chew. I feel as if I’ve intruded upon something holy.” Artifice and art.

Tómarúm – Ash in Realms of Stone Icons Review

Tómarúm – Ash in Realms of Stone Icons Review

By TheKenWord on May 2, 2022 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 62 comments

“We as a community speak often of defining and categorizing genres, but sometimes a promo comes along that legitimately challenges those definitions. Atlanta, Georgia’s Tómarúm received a generic “black metal” tag from Prosthetic Records’ PR team, and it falls short as a descriptor for what Tómarúm play. As you’ll surely deduce after giving debut album Ash in Realms of Stone Icons even just one spin, this nascent two-piece perform forbidden alchemy with myriad metallic ores, smelting a writhing, metamorphic amalgamation. It’s that very transmogrification that not only makes this album difficult to categorize but also exciting and satisfying to experience.” Pigeon holes don’t come easy.

Dischordia – Triptych Review

Dischordia – Triptych Review

By Dear Hollow on April 29, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 40 comments

“A crucial aspect of my death metal enjoyment comes from the mood it invokes. I feel plain cold with OSDM stuff, but the oft-maligned dissonant death offers a spectrum of atmospheres and environs: Portal‘s gates of madness, Ulcerate‘s apocalyptic meditativeness, and Ad Nauseam‘s croaking caverns, for example. Sinister intent and apathies to our suffering are a given in the dissonant stylings, but what if we could make it fun?” Devil-may-care and discord.

Azaab – Summoning the Cataclysm Review

Azaab – Summoning the Cataclysm Review

By Felagund on April 24, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 30 comments

“”Azaab” is an interesting word. Translated from Urdu, it means “torment” or “agony.” If that isn’t metal enough for you, the word itself sounds brutal; that harsh “z” consonant, violently squished between an unrelenting onslaught of vowels, all culminating with the unassuming but no doubt homicidal “b.” Ironically, Azaab is also the name of a death metal band hailing from Pakistan. This Islamabad-based five-piece just unleashed their debut album Summoning the Cataclysm upon an unsuspecting world.” A is for Azaab.

Void Dancer – Prone Burial Review

Void Dancer – Prone Burial Review

By Thus Spoke on April 20, 2022 in Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Technical Death Metal, 37 comments

“Metal as a genre is still relatively young. This means both that the meanings and definitions of sub-genres are constantly evolving, and that musicians are continually combining them in novel ways. Void Dancer‘s debut Prone Burial purports to be melodic death metal, but is actually more a blend of metalcore and tech death. I’m not mad about it, in spite of being misled, because Void Dancer hit upon something. They manage to do on their debut album what many fail to achieve after several: fuse technicality with punchiness. And they do it in an enjoyable, fairly unique way.” Burn, baby, burn, disco abyss.

Allegaeon – Damnum Review

Allegaeon – Damnum Review

By Cherd on February 24, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 85 comments

“Today, dear reader, I take over review duties for the tech death band Allegaeon from all around swell guy GardensTale. You see, Mr. Tale has twice reviewed these Coloradans, once for 2016’s Proponent of Sentience, and again for 2019’s Apoptosis, awarding both middling to poor scores. Apparently, this upset the powerful Allegaeon lobbyists in metal congress, because those comment sections got savage. GardensTale, this site, his mom, other writers, OUR moms; no one was safe from the blistering ire of the Allegaeonites.” A letter to Damnum.