Hey there tech fiends, it's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual reminder that if you're looking for more sick music, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
I’m a strong believer in sticking around with bands that have potential but haven’t really delivered on that to date. For every time that doesn’t pan out, there's plenty of bands I was not entirely sold on initially who ended up proving their worth on future releases. That’s exactly where the Netherlands based sci-fi focused group Apophys comes in. The group's 2015 debut, Prime Incursion didn’t stick with me as a whole, but it showed enough promise on its best tracks to keep me interested in them moving forward.
Just one week ago the group dropped their second album called Devoratis through Ultimate Massacre Productions. Devoritas is a much stronger release with a more developed musical identity and sense of consistency than their debut. Which, to be fair, their 2015 debut was more of a modern death metal release with some stripped down technical leanings to it. Here on Devoritas, the band has shifted towards being a much more complex sounding technical death metal act with a brutal edge.
The music found on Devoratis calls to mind a blend of influences indebted to Origin, Soreption, Nile, and Hate Eternal. The end result is quite satisfying, heavy as all fuck, powerfully vitriolic, and hits a perfect mix of earth-shaking grooves and fast tempo led swarms of death. Often this is very rhythm focused tech-death, but there’s a lot more lead playing and intricate nimble riffs outside of their core brutal twisting riffage that wasn't a part of their sound on their debut. This album is top notch from start to finish, save for the instrumental that is not all that memorable save for serving as a reprise from the onslaught.
Since Apophys was capable of evolving so much from their debut to their sophomore effort in just three years time, I feel like their next release will be where they truly cement their identity and reach their fullest potential. For now, Devoratis is a damn good experience that certainly stands out from the normal tech-death mold enough to keep me coming back to what it has to offer. You can order Devoratis and merch bundle packs containing the record through the Ultimate Massacre Productions website and also through Bandcamp. Be sure to follow the group over on the Apophys Facebook page as well.
