Technical death metal. There’s generally two type of people when regarding the sub-genre. Those that don’t like it, considering it nothing more than a noodly-broodly fretboard wankfest that’s more show than substance, and well, those that do. I happen to fall in the latter category and think that tech-death is some stellar shit. Honestly, I’d like to think of myself as being able to like any type of music, regardless of genre or style, as long as it is good, and Spectrum of Delusion‘s debut album, Esoteric Entity is without  a doubt good. Damn good. Damn, damn good as a matter of fact.

A spectrum of technical influence and talent is indeed to be found within the album’s nine tracks. A myriad of expression truly running the gamut of progressive tech-death the likes of which fans who cut and bleed for acts such as Beyond Creation, Spawn of Possession, Atheist, Gorod, The Faceless, and Obscura will lap up like a dog parched from the desert sun. There’s no real stand out track on Esoteric Entity, as the true highlight is the band’s musical prowess. In fact, an album such as this is going to be based on the listener’s personal affiliation of emotions when it comes to picking highlights or favorite tracks, as Esoteric Entity is chock full of twirling riffs, serpentine bass play, and change-ups around every imaginable corner showcasing some truly great melodious fretboard antics. All while the the drums drive in such a tasteful complimentary way, never falling flat and tired and never stealing the show or stepping on instrumental toes.

Whether it be the nice tech-grooved beginnings of “Reverie” and its slower divine manifestations that crop up within the tracks pulsing technical aspects, or the split personalities of “Mixotrophy” achieving a wonderful refined edge between chaos and finesse, or the saxophone solo that rises in “Ruler of Cruel” that hearkens to the likes of Candiria, if only for mere seconds, there is a bounty of progressive extremism to gluttonly feast upon. As I stated earlier, all of Esoteric Entity‘s tracks stand shoulder to shoulder with one another, though personally, it’s “Dead Weight” that really does it for me. The track achieving genuine fugues of counterpoint melding with harmony and melody in a blissful, twisting intellectual awareness that would make Bach himself proud and impressed.

Besides a couple of tracks that suffer from a too abrupt/clipped/unnatural closing, the true bummer of this album is the fact that Esoteric Entity will more than likely go unheard  and unnoticed by so many in the extreme metal realm. Even worse, is that I’d imagine that a number of those who do hear the album will pass it off as a heard it before/been done before type of affair. Those that would perceive this would not necessarily be wrong, but boy, would they not only be missing out, they’d be missing the point to and of Spectrum of Delusion‘s creativity and output. This is some extremely well crafted, well played, and clearly thought out death metal. If SoD doesn’t get picked up by a damn reputable label in the near future, I can only assume that it is by their own  choice and accord, but if you, the sagacious death metal lovers out there, pass up on Spectrum of Delusion and Esoteric Enitity, I can only assume it is from a severe case of cranial rectosis.

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