Wow. Here is some really creative, unique black/death metal from a Dutch band I know nothing about other than they have 1 prior album under their belt.

The actual ‘Shiva Hypothesis’ is a theory concerning extinction-level events and meteors, but the band is a 4 piece with ties to various other Belgian death metal acts, notably Altar (as well as Faces of Cain, Shattered Hope, and Procreation).

This 25-minute, 4-song (well three really, but more on that later) is absolutely chock full of brilliant, mesmerizing twisty turn-y Bolzer meets … And Oceans-like riffs that cross the black and death metal genres, and add some avant-garde structures keys, and other elements. It is brilliantly unhinged ( especially the vocals), unpredictable, and cleverly rendered to stick in your mind.

“The Perilous Journey of the Soul” starts things with a bang and the lovely little tremolo riff/jaunt around 1:20 is a real “WOW” attention grabber as is the fucking killer opening stop-start riff ( reminds me of Our Place of Worship is Silence a little) in the second more death metal sounding track “The Unyielding Flesh”, and its clear these guys are on a slightly different level than any of their other projects. The riffs are so angular yet catchy and they never stop, constantly changing into yet more WOW moments.

The title track is almost 9 minutes long and kind has to be heard to be appreciated as words just don’t do it justice. Whether it’s the angular, shrill black metal, or the stern, synth-laden death metal marches- it’s simply some of the more inventive riffing and song structures I’ve heard in a while.

Unfortunately the last track “Vox Rubetarum” is 4 minutes of clean singing, spoken words, acoustics, a trumpet, and nature noises. it’s avant-garde for sure, and I am sure it’s part of the EPs overall story, but ends this otherwise stunning EP on a bit of a down note. 

Another full-length album soon, please?

[Visit the band's website]

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