Obscura : "Diluvium"

Full disclosure I can name 5 "progressive" death metal bands that I think are worth a shit. Cynic, Pestilence, Opeth, Edge of Sanity...ok maybe four then so let's see if these guys can be the fourth. They do take a cue from Cynic with the robotic elf vocals that come in. The rubbery bass line also appeals to me. Some of the more mathy runs throw things off for me, but they are aggressive enough for me to appreciate the talent going into this without it coming off as pure wanking so I am going to keep listening. So I like the first song , but can I take an entire album of this? While I like girls who are into technical death metal, because it means they will like watching me masturbate, I'm not sure I'm a voyeur in that regard, but they keep bringing the mechanical elf vocals, so I'll keep listening. Thee second song is less aggressive as the gallops are more of an after though than the angular equations.

The title track features some lower more guttural growls that I expect from my death metal. Yet there is not clear path in how they are driving this song along and it sound more like pieces of songs mixed together by a dj. Until you get to the solo section then that is more cohesive. The mech-elf vocals loose a little for me as they are now more expected. They do take some of the cooler elements of post- "Covenant" Morbid Angel and weave them together into groove that they don't let groove. The song that follows adhere's to a more solid structure. It feels heavier but I think the first song is better in terms of composition. There is something about "Ethereal Skies" that reminds me of Carcass.There is more trade off between the robo-elf vocals and the growls . There is also a symphonic slant to it , which is nothing like Carcass. "Convergence" sounds more like a proggy extension of the previous song.

"Ekpyrosis" has some more melodic touches and , the best solo of the album as it's as tasteful as shredding typically gets. The drummer gets a little blasty on this and it's also one of the albums more aggressive songs. The race ahead at the speed this album has been thrashing at on "Seventh Aeon" and despite a melodic breakdown it begins to sound the same. "the Conjuration" blasts with more of a death metal bite and its not as bogged down with all the busy elements they call progressive, but at it'score with out that it's pretty much run of the mill death meta, though the guitar can lock into a pretty mean chug as needed. There is finally a groove that makes the math worthwhile on "An Epilogue to Infinity". I don't always have to have death metal sounding like Morbid Angel or Incantation, what they are doing here works just fine for me. At the end of the day the album might have a ton of busy work , but its still pretty solid as the cool parts out weigh the bloat. I'll give it an 8.5, strangely Relapse Records is releasing this.