Hey there tech fiends. It's that time of the week again. I've got a special early album stream from NYN for today's column. And then next week we'll have an exclusive Arkaik song premiere for you to check out. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual reminder that if you're looking for even more new bands, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
For those new to the project, NYN has always been a one-man band, founded and crafted by Noyan Tokgozoglu. Until the new album that is, with famed shredder Tom "Fountainhead" Geldschläger (live for Defeated Sanity, ex-Obscura) and keyboard/synth genius Jimmy Pitts (Pitts Minneman Project, Equipoise, Virulent Depravity) joining forces with NYN to up the ante further. The scope and depth of Entropy: Of Chaos and Salt hits on a dual level of both progressive metal and prog-death grandeur mixed with the over the top dazzling assault technical death metal delivers. Mixing and matching the two worlds together in a variety of inventive and forward thinking ways. The last decade, in particular, has seen an ever growing influx of technical death metal groups flirting with progressive music ideas and prog metal influences. Yet to date, I don't believe I've heard anyone mix the two together to the boundary pushing degree that Entropy: Of Chaos and Salt does. For that reason alone, this is an interesting album full of music that dares to venture into the unknown. In the wrong hands, what this album is seeking to achieve soundwise could easily come across as a jumbled half-baked mess. That it doesn't is a testament to the skill and incredible compositional abilities of the musicians involved in writing and performing on Entropy: Of Chaos and Salt.
There's a richness and quirky beauty to the many layers, twists, stop on a dime shifts in style, and ungodly complexity that the songs are built upon. It's almost as if the goal here was not only to invert tech-death's tropes but to proudly embrace the nature of excess in an exuberant manner that will leave many of you in a catatonic state of technical ecstasy. Or to put it another way, Entropy is chock full of spellbinding shredtastic jams, but with the heart and soul of a progressive metal band worn on its sleeve proudly at all times.
To give you a brief idea of what you're in for, the music comes across like a chaotic blend of Archspire meets Dream Theater and Obscura with a touch of Iced Earth, then you add in a wall of virtuosic key and synth layers from Jimmy Pitts on top of that which adds a lot to each and every song here. It's my understanding that both Tom and Jimmy helped improve and add to the songs, but the majority of the music was written by Noyan as usual. Fountainhead's performances on the album are mainly guitar solos, and given his abilities as a musician, it's exactly the right amount of extra shred and spice added without overshadowing the other member's performances. On top of the three main musicians playing on Entropy, the album also features several high profile guest spots from musicians such as guitarist Christian Muenzer, two spots from members of lauded prog metal act A Sense Of Gravity, and also one from Cyclamen mastermind Hayato Imanishi.
Entropy: Of Chaos and Salt is one of the most unique and challenging technical death metal albums I've heard in a long time. This album is the result of musicians with a strong vision who have the rare ability to bring that to life in a way few can. So jam Entropy: Of Chaos and Salt below, and if you dig what you're hearing, you can order it through the NYN Bandcamp page. The album will be officially released this Friday, August 11th through Vmbrella Records. Be sure to follow the group over at the NYN Facebook page as well.
