I'm curious...

Very melodic, somewhat technical progressive death metal from Canadaland. These guys don't necessarily fit in with most of the Quebec scene but they're definitely comparable enough to draw a similar fanbase.

Honestly, calling this one of the best death albums ever seems like disingenuous commentary taken to the max if you ask me. Bland, one-dimensional, trudging riffs that seem to travel at a one-speed setting encompassed in a sterile production which makes everything seem even flatter. Generic vocals too. Granted there are some pleasant solos and sections of instrumentation but inevitably it goes back to those uninspired, soulless surgery-room riffs again which make me want to stop listening to it fast.

Written by [user id=4365] on 13.01.2012 at 13:43

those uninspired, soulless surgery-room riffs again which make me want to stop listening to it fast.

This is what 90% of death metal is like to me.

Written by Daniell on 13.01.2012 at 20:10


This is what 90% of death metal is like to me.

Me too, without doubt. This album is marginally better than the hoards of clinical tech-death albums that get released each yeah but only by a fraction. Death metal needs to be creative, unique and interesting sounding. To call it in the same vein as the Demilichs, Lykathes, Akercockes etc. of the world seems pretty wack to me.

Written by [user id=4365] on 13.01.2012 at 20:34
To call it in the same vein as the Demilichs, Lykathes, Akercockes etc. of the world seems pretty wack to me.

Fortunately that's just one man's opinion, and the general public doesn't seem to by hyping it as such.

In spite of actually liking the album, I'd give it an 8/10 at most. Hardly a masterpiece, and it's honestly probably closer to a 7. It just stood out at first because I was listening to a lot of grindcore at the time so the melodies seemed extraordinary by comparison.

Still trying to get back into grind I guess.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 13.01.2012 at 21:57

Fortunately that's just one man's opinion, and the general public doesn't seem to by hyping it as such.

In spite of actually liking the album, I'd give it an 8/10 at most. Hardly a masterpiece, and it's honestly probably closer to a 7. It just stood out at first because I was listening to a lot of grindcore at the time so the melodies seemed extraordinary by comparison.

Still trying to get back into grind I guess.

Well you seem to have an appreciation for modern tech-death so I can why you dig it ;]

Generic, noisy grind is something I've never been into. It has to have a distinct edge like metal, be it melody or weirdness ala TOOH, Japanische Kampflorganfire, Carbonized etc. Agoraphobic Nosebleed seems to be an exception but I just generally think they fucking rock.

I was pretty blown away with how non-ground breaking their songs were on MySpace. Maybe the album as a whole has more to offer, maybe it needs time to sink in? What's going on here jup? And Agoraphobic Nosebleed does fucking rock.

Written by Rupert on 14.01.2012 at 23:31
Maybe the album as a whole has more to offer, maybe it needs time to sink in?

Not really... if you didn't like the songs on MySpace the album as a whole doesn't really do anything to change that. You might bump up your initial rating by half-a-point but nothing beyond that. In fact, you might even bump it down half-a-point...

Written by [user id=4365] on 13.01.2012 at 13:43

Honestly, calling this one of the best death albums ever seems like disingenuous commentary taken to the max if you ask me. Bland, one-dimensional, trudging riffs that seem to travel at a one-speed setting encompassed in a sterile production which makes everything seem even flatter. Generic vocals too. Granted there are some pleasant solos and sections of instrumentation but inevitably it goes back to those uninspired, soulless surgery-room riffs again which make me want to stop listening to it fast.

QFT.

Couldn't have said it better. Nothing really outstanding tbh, I mean.... It's good but nothing to get your panties wet for. The prog bits jsut aren't exciting at all. Meh-to-good album.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 15.01.2012 at 00:14

Not really... if you didn't like the songs on MySpace the album as a whole doesn't really do anything to change that. You might bump up your initial rating by half-a-point but nothing beyond that. In fact, you might even bump it down half-a-point...

I disagree. All my long-lasting favourite albums that I can think of have been the ones that took the longest to sink in. The ones that strike me as great after the first listen tend to be the first I get sick of, and not from overplaying them. Of course there are always exceptions on either side.

I just realized I might not be arguing the point you brought up. But I disagree again anyway
Their MySpace player doesn't have all the songs on the album so you can't really say listening to the whole album wouldn't change anything.

Hmm, so I missed this whole discussion...
Anyway, this is still easily my favorite death metal album from 2011 and it is because of how weird it sounds most of the time. The leads are completely unique and those 'surgery' riffs are very hypnotic, if you ask me. Certainly if you're into the more raw-sounding, occult side of death metal that many modern bands are pursuing, you won't find much to like here, but this album shouldn't really be compared to those anyway.

And seriously, how can you call what is happening in a song like "Self Belief" or "The Quest" generic, particularly in the realm of death metal? I don't know of a single other band with compositions like these or that evoke the same disconcerting emotions as the unique melodic structures that occur here.