Hey there tech-death fiends! It's time once again for my favorite item of the week, Tech-Death Tuesday. And with today's column, the early release stream train returns, and the gears are in motion for this to continue on throughout the rest of July! But as always, if you want to dive into prior editions to find more music before jamming today's focus, all editions of Tech-Death Tuesday can be perused here.
While I feel like today's early stream for In Reverence Of Forever by Mephistopheles is the product of a band who need no introduction, it seems the band still haven't reached the level of name recognition myself and many others feel they deserve. So to back up a little from here, the band has been active since 2004, soon launching an initial 2004 EP, Grail Of Wisdom. After that, the band caught the attention of worldwide renowned vocalist Matthew "Chalky" Chalk formerly of Psycroptic, who helped release the bands debut album, 2006's Ascension Aborted, through his own label. Later joining on as their vocalist and making his debut on their rightfully praised 2013 full-length, Sounds Of The End. Sometimes it takes a while for a band to break out, and for Mephistopheles, Sounds Of The End was that release.
After something as highly praised and ambitious as that album, I for one was curious to see what the band would do next. An answer to which would take a few years, but is now on the cusp of being answered in the form of their very soon to be released new EP, In Reverence Of Forever. If you've heard the band before, you'll know what to expect: Heavily black metal and prog influenced tech-death with a rawer than genre norm production melded to dizzily complex and off-the-wall songwriting that like the production, defies the genre norms and continues the bands path as superior outliers style wise within the technical death metal sphere.
While there's nothing wrong with following the trends as far as releasing music goes, groups like Mephistopheles show the value found in doing one's own thing off the beaten path of things. Not only is In Reverence Of Forever up to par with the level of quality found on their prior efforts, it very well may supersede those works with this most recent display of their hard-to-match combination of skill and synergy as individual players, and also as a singular group whole. If you've heard the band before, you're sure to enjoy this release, but it's the people who aren't too familiar with the band who really need to dive deep into the fantastic material on display throughout In Reverence Of Forever. Mephistopheles- In Reverence Of Forever will see official release this Friday, July 8th through Willowtip Records. If you like what you hear, it can be pre-ordered through their label here. Be sure to follow the band over on their Facebook page too!
