Two years ago, I stumbled across the up-and-coming progressive death metal band Haxprocess and their debut album The Caverns Of Duat. In Floridian fashion, their sound was centered around meaty guitar-work and death metal growls, yet was also expanded upon via the use of progressive elements. Their songs, some exceeding 10 minutes in length, provided epic sensations, while they primarily hooked their listeners with catchy riffs.
Their sophomore effort, Beyond What Eyes Can See, feels in many ways like a matured continuation. Signed recently to Transcending Obscurity Records, Haxprocess’s songwriting and production levels have taken more ambitious strides, stepping even further into the prog pool in the direction of Blood Incantation’s latest style. Reducing their tracklist from 5 to a mere 4 songs, they give their musicianship plenty of room to develop within 10+ minute runtimes.
Rather than delivering straightforward hooks as in their previous album, Haxprocess focus on building an immersive atmosphere this time. Soaring melodies and drawn-out tremolo-picking, softer ambience and heavy chugging—Beyond What Eyes Can See offers plenty of progressive variety. Even the vocals prove to be more nuanced, displaying a mix of both the accustomed growls and additional sickened, blackened yelps. The diversity in songwriting can be a lot to digest, and, at times, it can sound quite disjointed and directionless, like on the final track “Sepulchral Void”. My favorite track, where the different stylistic directions work surprisingly well together, is also the shortest track: “The Confines of the Flesh”, clocking in at 9-and-a-half minutes.
Overall, I find The Caverns Of Duat to have been the easier album to enjoy; I'm a sucker for straight-to-the-point, groovy riffs, and their debut album wasted no time to draw you in. In contrast, Beyond What Eyes Can See finds Haxprocess sacrificing some of their catchiness for an increase in impressive, proggy musicianship. On the one hand, due to the diverse styles on display, there's a lot more to enjoy on this sophomore effort. On the other hand, it may take several listens to fully appreciate the lengthy tracks full of complex progression.
In conclusion, Beyond What Eyes Can See is an impressive next step for Haxprocess, demonstrating their ability to create expansive soundscapes in proper prog death fashion. In the end, it will depend on your personal preference whether you'll like this album more than its predecessor. For catchy hooks, I'd recommend The Caverns Of Duat. For more complex compositions, you should choose Beyond What Eyes Can See.
