2006-02-20
Canadian death metal is the best show in town right now, bands such as
Ctyptopsy ,
Quo Vadis and
Despised Icon have all released excellent technical death metal albums.
And now come Montréal's Own Neuraxis and create an album that not only matches, but out-classes some of the better known bands as well.
This, the band's fourth release, does the right thing by balancing a fair amount of technical complexity with well-structured songs and excellent hooks, they may be extremely proficient players, but the band also puts the right emphasis on the songs themselves, so that the album is not only a long show-off of complexity and sophistication, it also contains memorable riffs and songs that stick to your mind.
Sound is extremely accurate, courtesy of Yannick St. Amand and Jason Suecof, who make everything sound as it should, it sounds clear and crisp, yet not overproduced.
The album seems to divided into two parts, there's an intro and then 4 songs that are longer, have more text, and therefore more vocals, and then there are 5 shorter tracks - all tracks contain a similar formula of combining complex and yet melodic riffs with extremely capable drumming, vocalist Ian Campbell gives a truly powerful performance, his death growls move and fluctuate, sometimes taking the spotlight from the music and then letting it move back into the center.
The album doesn’t outstay its welcome, it bursts forth, does its thing, and then ends, the songs, though highly original and containing plenty of ideas, do not drag too long, so it all feel balanced and poised.
This is certainly one of the best albums I've heard in the last few months, and a serious contender for best death metal album for 2005.
Alon Miasnikov
