Well, here is 2010s first top notch tech death metal release (the re-issue of Obscura’s Retribution does not count).

After 2008s promising little The Nameless, The Faceless EP, this California trio have made all the necessary improvements and developments to start flirting with the likes of Severed Savior, Odious Mortem, Abysmal Dawn and such: busy and complex but not utterly brutal either, choosing a balance that’s convoluted and intellectual but still retains some decent and not overly polished savagery.

Of the 11 tracks, 2 are reworked from the EP (“U-235” and “Clipping the Wings of Hope”) with an improved production that isn’t as murky as the EP, but retains the undulating muddier tones that isn’t as clicky as many of their peers. The new 7  tracks (instruemntal “Beyond the Endless” doesn’t treally count) deliver some twangy and often jazzy basslines amid dirty but intricate riffage that’s still memorable and at times I was reminded of Oppressor mixed with Atheist at their peaks; Swirling and jangly but a hint of nastiness and lots of top notch musicianship. Drummer/ vocalist Chris Barnum is a better drummer than a vocalist, but the vocals are dressing to the music in this case.

Excellent tracks like opener “Addicted to Tomorrow” (with its jazzy break), “Impurities”, “The Light That Cast No Shadow”, “Tetra Hydra Cannibol”, “Divide and Devour” (with a surprisingly melodic solo/section) and “Before Our Eyes” (another jazz break) aren’t going to knock the likes of Augury or Ulcerate from the tech death metal throne but if you enjoyed Obscura’s debut Retribution over last years ultra polished Cosmogenesis, Eon Fragmentation might be for you.

[Visit the band's website]

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