The Infinite

August 2024

1. Anciients – In The Absence of Wisdom (2024)

2. Angra – Gods of the World (2023)

3. Ætheria Conscientia – Haesperadh (2024)

4. Entheos – All for Nothing (2024)

5. Ever Forthright – Kickfun (2024)

6. Gojira – Esoteric Surgery (2008)

7. Haken – Cockroach King (2013)

8. In Mourning – Hierophant (2019)

9. Last Chance to Reason – The Divide (2024)

10. Mandroid Echostar – Haunted Vows (2013)

11. Nospun – The Death of Simpson (2023)

12. The Ocean – Hadopelagic II: Let Them Believe (2013)

13. OK Goodnight – The Falcon (2023)

14. Opeth – Ghost of Perdition (2005)

15. PainKiller – Morning of Baladchaturdasi (1994)

16. Sieges Even – The Weight (2005)

17. Umpfel – Peddler of Words (2019)

18. Zeal & Ardor – Hide in Shade (2024)

Ben, please add the new Sumac EP The Keeper's Tongue.

I've sadly never been able to get into Oceans of Slumber despite me keeping up with them whenever I see they have something new out. If my ratings are anything to go off of, it looks like I prefer their very first album which had more Death Metal influence than any of their others, probably because it was a bit more unique. Despite everyone's praises for their lead vocalist I don't think she has been able to carry this band on her own, so I'm hoping to check it out today and see if that's changed. Winter was probably their strongest showing for me, with the self-titled and Starlight and Ash being incredibly forgettable and not worth too many revisits for me. 

This and "Conscious Descent" are the only tracks in this Hemotoxin album I find progressive, but technicality and aggression continue to reign:

Atheist - "Elements" (1993)

There are few metal bands that I heard more of through the first half of the 1990's than Florida technical death metal masters Atheist. I first encountered them through their 1990 debut album "Piece of Time" which I thoroughly enjoyed but it was 1991's classic "Unquestionable Presence" sophomore album that really sealed the deal for me & I still regard it as one of the true greats of its era. I even had some time for Atheist's 1988 "Beyond" demo tape so I think it's fair to say that I regarded myself as a committed fan by the time their 1993 third album "Elements" rolled around. People may not be aware of this given its status in the modern day but (much like Pestilence's divisive "Spheres" album from the same year) "Elements" initially received a fairly mixed reception from a large chunk of the death metal audience. I could see what people were saying but the creativity & innovation put into Atheist's latest effort still seemed kinda exciting so I gave it a good run. A couple of my fellow Neuropath band mates were absolutely obsessed with the band too so there was rarely a party where Atheist didn't get a run along with a drunken air guitar tournament or two. But the past few decades have seen me largely tending to steer away from "Elements" in favour of its two older siblings so I thought it was time to take a deeper look at why.

As much as I love "Unquestionable Presence", I do have to admit that its production job wasn't its crowning achievement & my initial revisit to "Elements" highlighted that it hadn't faired all that much better in that department with the rhythm guitars lacking weight & the vocals sounding echoey & a touch flat. In fact, I can't help but wonder what "Elements" may have been able to accomplish with a clean & bright modern-day sound because there's an incredible amount of creativity & instrumental prowess contained within this record. It's interesting that most people seem to still wanna tie this album in with the tech death crowd too because frankly... there's not a second of death metal on this mo'fucka. Atheist's death metal credentials were already a little sketchy in my opinion as I always maintained my position that they were more of a death/thrash band but here we see the new five-piece configuration (following the recruitment of additional lead guitarist Frank Emmi) dropping extreme metal altogether for a fresh new approach that saw them indulging in various strands of pure progressive metal. Hell... I'd even go so far as to suggest that "Elements" would sit more comfortably in The Gateway than it does in The Horde where it really has no right to be. I've never been one to judge an artist for taking creative risks though so I was still just as open to discovering whatever magic Atheist had in store for me.

The superiority of the musicianship on "Elements" is nothing short of staggering at times. The increased reliance on jazz structures created a wonderful platform for new drummer Josh Greenbaum & bass virtuoso Tony Choy to flourish, often at the expense of front man Kelly Shaefer who struggles a little bit behind the microphone with his vocals coming across as a bit flat after dropping much of their death metal menace. The real highlight here is the incredible lead guitar work of Emmi & Rand Burkey which is nothing short of invigorating though. I simply love the danger in their jazz fusion inspired shredding & feel that the album would have been significantly weaker with some less highly credentialed exponents of their craft. Choy isn't far behind though with his scintillating bass lines proving once again what a force he can be.

"Elements" sees Atheist exploring a vast array of difference subgenres & textures, often within the same song, & for that reason, it can sound a little jerky at times. There are no weak tracks included in the twelve on offer but I can't say that too many of them really hit the spot like Atheist's last two records did. The two track run of progressive metal masterclass "Air" into the jazz fusion influenced instrumental interlude "Displacement" is my favourite part of the album but I also enjoy the jazz guitar instrumental "See You Again" quite a lot. The rest of the record is pleasant enough but I rarely find myself enthralled like I was in the past. Many of the grooves the band hit on would feel more appropriate on an alternative metal release & there's a minor lack of cohesion in the compositional flow at times too.

There's no doubt that Atheist were still a class act & there were not many bands that could have created a record like "Elements" in 1993. It seems to have gone on to build somewhat of a cult following in the underground over the years & is now even considered to be another essential tech death metal release from the band. I can't agree with that mentality though as I can't shake the feeling that "Elements" is a step down from Atheist's first two full-lengths. Few can deny that it's a very interesting & intriguing listen but I'd challenge anyone that claims it to be an essential release.

For fans of Cynic, 90's Death & "Spheres"-period Pestilence.

3.5/5

Amiensus - The Reclamation (Part I and II) (2024)

I've been really digging this double album by a previously unknown band from me, with Part I being released in April and Part II releasing about a week ago at the end of August. Despite being labeled as Black Metal there isn't much to back up that claim; it resides in that strange amalgamation void of Progressive Metal bands that take a million influences from Black/Death metal and smash them together into something that is unique yet recognizable if you've been around bands like Ne Obliviscaris, Wilderun, or Earthside's newest album shown above. I absolutely love this kind of stuff in general, so I was glued to Part I since the middle of August and eagerly awaiting the release of Part II. I'm not entirely sure The Reclamation needed to be a double album, as I find Part II to be weaker than Part I through and through despite an amazing start and riff on the opening "Solfario". I think they could have trimmed some of the fat off of Part I and added a few of the stronger tracks from Part II to come up with an hour long album instead of the rather lengthy 90 minutes it ended up being. I'm not exactly complaining because I'm a big fan, but it does begin to run out of ideas and steam halfway through Part II. It's a pretty dense album though, so it'll take me some more time to really see how the whole thing holds up overtime. Overall though, there's a ton of memorable riffs and moments from both the heavier side and lighter, melodic side, and it's been a comfort listen for me as I add another Prog Metal band that's more on the extreme side into my repertoire. 

Part I - 4/5

Part II - 3.5/5

As much as I enjoy the rest of Textures' debut, I see no point in including this overlong ambient sh*t at the end (the only Textures track to ever qualify for this thread):

I've done my review, here's its summary:

By the mid-2000s, djent was still starting off low-key. We have the originator, Meshuggah, and Sikth made their entrance with their djenty progressive metal sound. Named after an instrumental from Cynic's debut Focus, Textures was determined to give their music the many aspects and layers including djenty guitars. And it all starts with their debut Polars, their only album with talented ex-vocalist Pieter Verpaalen. RIP... There's no underestimating the complexity of this music. As often done by Meshuggah and The Dillinger Escape Plan, heavy aggression and soft relaxation are covered in different grounds of sonic emotion. In the short tracks and the 18-minute title epic, there's everything including minimalistic riffing, clean vocal harmonies, and the deathly djent of Meshuggah. Practically all you can ask for from the band. Polaris would've been as glorious as their subsequent albums if not for that final overlong ambient track....

4/5

Recommended tracks: "Ostensibly Impregnable", "Young Man", "The Barrier", "Polars"

For fans of: Meshuggah, Periphery, Sikth

Here are my submissions for the October Infinite playlist:

Alchemist - "Worlds Within Worlds" (7:05) from Jar of Kingdom (1993) (based on Embryonics 90-98 compilation, 2006)

Gloios - "TELE II" (7:03) from LIDE (2022)

Meshuggah - "Rational Gaze" (5:04) from Chaosphere (2002)

Sadist - "Sadist" (4:20) from Above the Light (1993)

Tesseract - "Juno" (5:12) from Sonder (2018)

Total length: 28:44

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

7 Horns 7 Eyes – Regeneration (2012)

5/5. A perfect instrumental standout featuring some soloing by Jeff Loomis (ex-Nevermore), reminding me of his later supergroup Conquering Dystopia.

Gojira – The Heaviest Matter of the Universe (2005)

4.5/5. Gojira has made some real heavy stuff alongside their usual progressiveness. The "OPEN THE DOOR!!!" part is quite climatic, I'll say!

Ions – A Terrible Mistake (2023)

4/5. You ever want to hear the sounds of Northlane, Tesseract, and Karnivool come together? You got it right here! There's great talent and craftsmanship to love. It's quite cool hearing the orchestration blend in with the djent guitar. That shall help encourage me to level up my progressive metal zone.

Leprous – Like a Sunken Ship (2024)

4/5. Both Leprous and Opeth are making their comeback to their earlier growl-filled metal roots with their singles from their respective new albums, and that's pretty great! Unfortunately, I found out that this is the only track from Leprous' new album Melodies of Atonement with that sound, and the rest of the album is the soft art rock continued from their previous 3 albums.

MaYaN – The Illusory Self (2018)

4.5/5. This 9-minute progressive epic is the best way to summarize all this album has to offer, from the classic riffing to the epic choruses. This should've been the end of the playlist right there, but it's OK that it isn't, because there's more of the progressiveness to come...

Meshuggah – Future Breed Machine (1995)

5/5. The chaos continues after starting with a bit of an apocalyptic atmosphere that sounds like robotic machines taking over the world; industrial noises for almost 30 seconds, then a piercing siren over a total headbanging onslaught.

Ne Obliviscaris – Painters of the Tempest – Part II – Triptych (2014)

5/5. More of the chaos is unleashed with part 2 of "Painters of the Tempest". Even though the entire suite is 23 minutes long, this part would still be Ne Obliviscaris' longest song at 16 and a half minutes! This is perhaps my favorite Ne Obliviscaris song even though it's NOT in Portal of I. There are so many brilliant ideas! This part is actually is split into 3 smaller movements. The first movement, "Creator" has a couple transitions between fast storms and soft melodies. Then the second movement "Cynosure" is more acoustic/violin oriented, unlike the overpowering guitars in the other two movements. The avant-garde jazz themes are more apparent with only clean vocals and mid-tempo melodic grooves, until it builds back up to a crescendo of metal and growls. The last movement "Curator" is back to some of the most intense powerful chaos of the album until a nice ethereal ending.

Nevermore – The Fault of the Flesh (1999)

4.5/5. RIP Warrel Dane. He had the greatest sense of drama in the vocals. Jeff Loomis is also talented with his face-melting soloing, like the one over 3 minutes in.

Novallo – White Phoenix (2015)

4/5. Quite creative, though having some slight weakness.

The Ocean – Bathyalpelagic II: The Wish in Dreams (2013)

4.5/5. Even in a small part of a multi-track suite, you can get everything from different bands like Mastodon, BTBAM, and Opeth.

Opeth - §1 (2024)

4/5. And with all that talk about Opeth, we've made it to the first single of their upcoming album The Last Will and Testament. While the sound picks up where In Cauda Venenum left off, the growls and metal of Ghost Reveries and Watershed have returned! And there's drumming insanity by Waltteri Väyrynen (previously from Paradise Lost and Bodom After Midnight). This deathly sound better not be a one-time thing like that Leprous single is. It's my last hope in regaining full interest in Opeth....

A new month means new music and I couldn't be more excited to present the third studio album from U.K. atmo-sludge band Dvne, Voidkind, for the Infinite feature release in August. I really enjoyed this album the first time around and will likely make a full review for it later this month. I can't wait to see what others think of it.

https://metal.academy/releases/51521