Not my first rodeo with this death metal project, as I reviewed their 2020 album. They are on the more progressive side, highly technical and experimental, and not afraid to throw in sonic shades outside the bounds of death metal. I made it a point to listen to this album because Andy Larocque plays on it. He lends his fret skills alongside James Murphy; obviously, Andy's solo stands out more. A sax also appears on this song, helping it to stand out from your typical death metal. The second song finds a darker mood merging often sandwhiched between rapid-fire blast beats.
Two songs in it's perhaps too soon to say, but it feels like the experimentation is more focused on this album, and they are not throwing as many styles at you but working things into a more cohesive sound. "Bleed With the Moon" is technical but still carries a darker groove that is more memorable than the chugging of "Aeons Adrift," which gets the job done but leaves less of an impression. Perhaps this is because the vocals on this one are also more memorable. "Defiance Infernus" makes me think of Dimmu Borgir, though less symphonic even with the solitary violin; "Disease of the Soul" varies from a Morbid Angel-like groove to a more chaotic, jazzy abstraction; the drummer is excellent but sometimes seems to be ringleading the chaos.
"Return to the Unknown" is more on the progressive side of things, with the vocals of Anna Murphy helping to provide greater depth to the song's mood. "Writhing Lunacy" is more like the background noise at a haunted house, with a woman screaming and darker ambiance cast over it. Its more like an outro than a song, so I won't count it when scoring this album. This album improves over what this project has done before and feels more focused; I will give it a 9.5 , making it a top-tier death metal album to pay attention to. Out on Testimony Records.
pst446
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