News : Cosmic Atrophy New Album "The Void Engineers" out now and streaming via NoCleanSinging

Via NoCleanSinging.com :

"Today we premiere a full stream of the new album by Cosmic Atrophy from Biloxi, Mississippi, preceded by an introductory review by Vonlughlio.)

As you, my dear readers, already know by now, my small reviews usually focus on bands in the Brutal Death Metal genre (one of my favorites). Nevertheless, I do like other genres as well, such as Death, Black, Black/Death, and Doom Metal, just to name a few. But when given the opportunity to write for NCS,  I wanted to focus on a genre that could use more exposure. Also, Islander and the team of writers do a fantastic job in promoting/writing about all the main genres here.

With that being said, in my time here at NCS I have written about some non-BDM such as Mournful Congregation, whose release last year I was privileged to write a few words about.

This time around I am very fortunate to do a small write up for Cosmic Atrophy‘s sophomore album The Void Engineers. Simply put, it is for me how Progressive Death Metal should sound, and it has impacted me immensely.

This band was founded back in 2008 by Cory Richards (vocals, guitars, bass and drums) and joined by the talented Phil Tougas  on lead guitars  (Chthe’ilist, Equipose, Eternity’s End, Serocs, First Fragment, Funebrarum and Zealotry).  I wasn’t familiar with this project until Mr. Tougas made a FB post about it, and that led me to check out the past releases.

The first album, Codex Incubo, was released back in 2008, and it was a strong debut, showcasing a more technical and straightforward approach than what we have in the new album. It displayed great musicianship from start to finish, the music influenced to some extent my Demilich and sci-fi themes.  A solid effort — but that did not prepare me for their sophomore album, which is light-years ahead of its predecessor.

The new album is still technically impressive, and reveals songs that were thoughtfully created to keep the listener engaged throughout, from the moment you press play.  The songs change as they unfold, with guitar solos often a the main characters for the change. Each song is so well-crafted, and when you read the lyrics, it might be taken for an obscuce sci-fi score.

The production quality enhances the vision that we are in an obscure part of space, and each of the instruments is audible and does not overshadow any of the others; the melody sections are also a major plus. As mention, there is a Demilich influence (at least for me), but the way the band evolved, they have certainly created their own sound and proven a high level of musicianship.

One key improvement over the first album is in the vocals, which are more vibrant and diverse in each of the songs. They have brought more depth and richness to the chapters, creating the feeling that the music is telling a story. The guitar performances are of course outstanding, dextrous and precise, and the solos are so good they sound inhuman (and made me want to start learning the instrument).

The sounds of synths and strings in some sections takes you to the world of pulp horror films from the ’50s – ’70s and the old chamber orchestra scores (as well as the pioneering days of synthesizer music making its way into the sonic DNA of horror films) of the late ’60s and early ’70s.

It is important to say that the lyrics go hand-in=hand with the music, and simply a further sign of how much care and creativity went into the crafting of this album. I’ll leave you the first paragraph of the opening song “Stygian Whispers”:

“Convulsing in death throes Psychic fragmentation and decay A soul torn asunder, ripped from its womb Restless cries in agony “

Hit the play button and read the lyrics, and the listening experience will just Become more rich and addictive.

For me, this album is one of the greats of 2018; this is a project that should get more recognition.  So give it a chance and listen below to the full stream of the album, which is being released today — November 30th. " Originally written by Islander for NoCleanSinging.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xfdONRPf_g

Review : Cosmic Atrophy - The Void Engineers by Toiletovhell

Via Toiletovhell : "A quick disclaimer before I jump into this one: typically, I like to have a fair amount of time to sit with an album before jumping into a review. I only just got my hands on this one a week ago, so this is largely going to be first impressions. That said, I’m pretty excited for this one, and I want to make people aware of it so we might not have to wait 10 years between albums again. I’m also fairly certain that once you hear what this album has to offer, you’ll be excited for it too.

If you’re not already familiar with Cosmic Atrophy, I highly recommend going back and getting yourself acquainted with Codex Incubo (embedded below). It’s comparable to this year’s Exlimitir album in that it’s Demilich worship at its core, but takes the sound in some novel directions. For its part, Codex both explores the jaunty, groovy side of their Finnish predecessors and pushes a bit more dissonance into the mix. Fans of the outpouring of spacey death metal in recent years will dig the lead guitar work, and some clean vocals and synths add some interesting textures to the mix. It’s a bit on the rough side, but that’s part of its charm, so hop on the train to the X-Zone and treat your ears to what I can only assume is the sort of thing you’d hear at a space squid dance party:

Smash cut to ten years later and we are treated to The Void Engineers, Codex Incubo’s chunky, slimy little brother. It’s a sequel in many ways to the former (including lyrically from what I understand) and is generally speaking a pretty substantial upgrade. That keystone of Demilich-inspired riffing is still intact, and it’s presented with much tighter production and performance. There’s more variety in riffs and structure from song to song, ranging from glacial doom to bouncy grooves and staving off any feeling of redundancy.

The long stretch between albums and addition of Phil Tougas on guitars does mean they’ve undergone a slight shift in identity, however. The frantic feeling present throughout Codex has been replaced with an air of menace, due in no small part to the deeper exploration of the lower end of the guitar. Synths and orchestrations are featured much more prominently than they were on the debut, and there’s a bit more of that Timeghoul-ish clean singing present as well. I wouldn’t count these things as marks against the album, though; the leads are substantially better this time around, and the integration of those synth and orchestral bits (as well as the omnipresent clean guitar on “Umbral Altar”) blend together with the rest of the instruments for some truly unique soundscapes. Even if you’re an old fan of the band and find the changes jarring, you’ll find everything is still appropriately weird on Engineers.

Even based on my limited time with this album, I think it’s fair to say that people are going to be all over it. I can’t imagine it growing stale anytime soon; it’s dense enough that I know there are things I missed on my first couple listens, particularly with the monstrous two closing tracks. It lands right in that sweet spot between tech death and weird old school Finnish death metal, so if you’re a fan of either, you’ll want this one on your radar.

The Void Engineers drops tomorrow, November 30th, and you can pick it up at… Bandcamp, I assume? I’m actually not a hundred percent sure, so keep your eyes on Cosmic Atrophy’s Facebook page for some solid details and hype yourself up on those singles." Originally written by Spear for Toiletovhell

Review : Zealotry - At The Nexus Of All Stillborn Worlds by HeavyBlogIsHeavy

Via Heavy Blog Is Heavy : "2018 has been an absolute field day for quality death metal of all shapes, sizes and stripes. More broadly, the past three-to-five years have exhibited as much technical and songwriting prowess in the genre to rival its heyday in the early nineties. It’s been a good time to be a death metal fan as of late, and may the ever-flowing stream of premium music never cease. Boston’s death metal wizards Zealotry have been in the thick of this revivalist movement since they released their first demo back in 2009. Their first two full-length records, The Charnel Expanse and The Last Witness, were close-to-perfect slabs of technical, atmosphere-drenched old school death metal that cemented their reputation as one of the genre’s most talent-filled acts. Their latest record, At the Nexus of All Stillborn Worlds, does nothing to diminish their reputation as death metal riff lords. In fact, it instead serves as the vehicle for the band’s most cohesive and intricate songwriting and musicianship yet. It’s their best record and, quite frankly, one of the very best death metal records to see release this year. Which, in 2018, is a big deal indeed.

For anyone unfamiliar with the particular breed of death metal Zealotry are peddling here, think a mixture between Blood Incantation or Dead Congregation and the spacier, atmospheric pyrotechnics of Chthe’ilist. It’s a potent combination of bone-breaking riffs, songwriting complexity, technical acumen, and a flair for more mystic atmospherics, and Zealotry do it better than anyone in the game on At the Nexus. The album’s opening (and title) track wastes absolutely no time introducing listeners to the dark and sinuous sonic world Zealotry have created with an instrumental blast as potent and intricate as they’ve yet created. Phil Tougas’ (he of Chthe’ilist fame) guitar work is as sharp as ever, churning out one dense riff sequence after another in a rush of musical color. Joined this time around by Jake Himelfarb of Calcemia on guitar, the tracks populating this album are jam-packed with memorable moments from universally erudite performances. Of particular note on this record is the work of drummer Alex Zalatan, who stuffs tracks like “Lethe’s Shroud” and “The Hole” with enough impressive work to populate several less worthy records. The overall percussive element to this record is also heightened by Aodán Collins’ fantastic bass play, which is brought frequently to the surface (especially during the album’s opening number) by a fantastic production aesthetic that balances these performances seamlessly into one complex, yet distinct and clear, whole. Topping off the album’s performative excellence is Roman Temin on vocals, whose performance here nestled perfectly within the overall sonic aesthetic of the record.

The performances and sonic elements discussed above are only valuable in the context of solid songwriting, which is something of a weakness for many a young death metal band. Zealotry have no such weakness, as these tracks are filled to overflowing with good ideas that never overstep one another and work exclusively within the confines of the album’s overarching sonic vision. Rather than letting the fantastic musicians in this band run these songs wildly into nowhere (which is a complaint lodged, whether correctly or not, against bands on the more technical/progressive side of things), there is a consistent and propulsive thread that ties these tracks together with a near-perfect blend of uniformity and adventurousness. “Universal Deceit”, “The Sky Bleeds Nightmares”, and album closer “Irredeemable” each pull in different sonic elements present in the album’s earlier tracks (mainly the utilization of clean, haunting vocal harmonies and blistering solos) in a way that is familiar, but lacking in repetition. Every new sequence of these previously tread patterns is imbued with just the right amount of narrative cohesion to keep the record constantly on the rails. Always going somewhere, and never aimlessly. It’s death metal songwriting done right, and from start to finish exemplifies everything the band do well to the nth degree.

All of the above elements combine to create one of my favorite death metal releases this year. With At the Nexus, Zealotry have refined their mixture of technicality, atmosphere, and punchy songwriting to Gorguts levels of meticulousness. It’s a stand-out in a year filled with stand-outs, and a record that shouldn’t be missed by fans of the genre."

Originally written by Jonathan Adams for HeavyBlogIsHeavy.com