Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Neurotech - Ave Neptune (2023)

Here I am checking out another Neurotech album, and once again I find something killer enough to almost reach perfection! I would've thought this smooth cyber/industrial metal sound was weird a few years ago, before I realized its true potential. Now it's something so fresh and unique that's hard to find in any other band or style.

Ave Neptune continues restoring the many aspects of Neurotech's material from 10 years prior, with heavy riffing and drumming mixed together with club-friendly electronics and cinematic strings, all narrated by great clean vocals. And it's not just keyboards that make things fresh. New stuff has been added including the occasional acoustic bridge and even extreme blast beats. I still haven't made my way through the entire Neurotech discography, but if I can be impressed by albums like this one, count me in!

"The Coming Storms" is the opener that can almost go as progressive as Extol in just 4 minutes, from the soft first-half buildup to the climatic electro-metal second half. The single "Mundane Entropy" doesn't lose much speed. A potential future classic! "Never-Ending Maze" has some of the modern electronic extremeness of late Raintime.

Absolute highlight "The Serpent Bites" might just be one of my favorite tracks by this band, with excellent riffing and a catchy chorus. "Only Heartbeat" continues that Dead by April-esque mix of electronics and metal. "Repent in Need" is one of the heaviest songs Wulf has ever done, straight-up metal aggression with a heavenly midsection.

"Spiraling Down" is the only track in the album bad enough to keep it a half-star short from total perfection, but it's not horrible by any means. "Whirlwind" has some heavy melodies to remind me of the recent Soilwork. "Inner Quest" is a much shorter and softer highlight, while having the ambience of Voivod, strings of Persefone, and the electronics of The Browning. It greatly leads to the finale "The Years of the Flood", a little more obvious but still the perfect way to end it all.

All in all, Ave Neptune has been an amazing experience in the cyber realm of Neurotech, with some of my newfound favorite tracks by the band. I look forward to hearing more of the band's discography and finding out which albums can surpass this one. All hail Neurotech!

Favorites: "Mundane Entropy", "The Serpent Bites", "Repent in Need", "Inner Quest", "The Years of the Flood"