Hey everyone! It's time for another bounty of ear bludgeoning fun for fans of technical death metal. For those who are joining us for the first time, the focus here is on lesser known or new bands that you may not have discovered yet. From time to time this feature may include bands who are on a label. Although overall each installment will revolve around independent and unsigned acts. The three installments of Tech-Death Tuesday posted so far featured only two bands, which is commonly how it will go. But today is an exception to that loose rule, and features four bands instead. As such, the write ups will be much briefer for each of them, but the quality level hasn't dipped just because I added more bands this time! Hope you find something you enjoy and stay tuned for next weeks installment. Until then, in the words of almighty tech-overlords Archspire, Stay Tech.
Burial In The Sky- Transcendence
I have my good friend Kyle McGinn from DeadRhetoric.com to thank for tipping me off to Burial In The Sky. He recently posted about them and I was very impressed by what I heard and felt it warranted sharing since they are not well known. Burial In The Sky are a two man band who hail from Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. Consider them a fine addition and peer to the recently growing horde of tech-death coming from Pennsylvania such as Rivers Of Nihil, Black Crown Initiate, and Alustrium. The sort of technical death metal Burial In The Sky traffic in on Transcendence has a strong atmospheric and ethereal focus layered within its punishing depths. Fans of Fallujah and Rivers Of Nihil are strongly urged to jam Transcendence. I have no doubt that whatever Burial In The Sky releases next will blow us all away.
Exovoid- Psychotic Shift
My favorite part about finding really unique new bands is when I hear something that scratches an itch I didn't even know existed. The New Jersey based legion of death known as Exovoid certainly do that for me. On their EP called Psychotic Shift they deliver a soul removing blend of ideas that combines the fury and barreling nature of Cryptopsy, the brutal and shred heavy edge of Dying Fetus, and wrap it up with a proggy bow of Death influences. Psychotic Shift is made up of three songs that twist and turn unpredictably, delivering an interesting form of tech-death I hadn't heard before. Exovoid then close out the release with a cover of Death- "Trapped In A Corner". There is a bewildering abundance of ideas to digest in the almost twenty minute run time of their original songs. In fact, they've crammed enough different parts in their songs that it has the replay value of twice as many songs by most bands.
Radang-Konsorsium Intelegensi
Many fans of technical death metal have a love for the most extreme of the extreme, so within that subset of tech-death I bring you Radang who hail from Indonesia. I've had a hard time finding all the information I looked for regarding this release, but from what I can gather, Konsorsium Intelegensi is a 2015 re-release with new artwork which had originally dropped in 2012. The eye-popping artwork immediately caught my attention and I wish I could find out who did it but was unable to find out. As for what Radang sound like, it comes across like the mentally deranged offspring of a radioactive marriage between Origin and Deeds Of Flesh. Konsorsium Intelegensi is over-the-top and endlessly frenetic in the best way possible. I was unable to find it for sale digitally, but messaged the bands asking them if it might be possible to put Konsorsium Intelegensi up on bandcamp. Here's to hoping they do. For now, the best I can offer is a link to buy it from Indonesia:
Prion- Uncertain Process
Argentinian death squad Prion are today's final band, and a bit of an outlier pick. On their new record called Uncertain Process they take every opportunity to beat you to death and then keep whaling on your corpse until only a closed casket funeral is possible. What I mean when I said they were an outlier pick is that they don't fit the flashy mold that most tech-death encompasses. This is technical death metal in a more narrow sense as it relates to the dexterous performances from all members. Which is paired with a non-stop focus on blazing tempos. I personally would compare this to the manner in which Hate Eternal is technical death metal in terms of the sheer complexity of the music on display. And Hate Eternal are certainly the closest comparison in terms of describing what Uncertain Process has to offer. Although I think Prion succeed where others in this vein fall short due to their killer skin-flaying riffs and capable songwriting which elevates them beyond being a mere Hate Eternal clone.
