Review Summary: A solid, if somewhat redundant album from talented Italian tech-death metallers.
3 of 3 thought this review was well writtenSeptycal Gorge are an Italian death metal band formed in 2004, featuring members of Necrotomia, Blasphemer, and Corpse***ing Art.
Erase the Insignificant is their second full-length, while the band has released an EP, a demo, and a split since 2005, as well as their first full-length,
Growing Seeds of Decay in 2006. On
Erase the Insignificant, the band is comprised of:
Mariano - Vocals
Diego - Guitar
Los - Guitar
Claude de Rosa - Bass
Davide Billia - Drums
Erase the Insignificant is a pretty standard fare tech-death record, complete with insane guitar riffs, a drummer that seems to either have mechanical arms or need medication, and a vocalist that sounds both evil and constipated. The album is pretty short, clocking in at about 30 minutes, yet can maintain your attention for most of the duration.
The songwriting is fairly decent; the songs seem progressive in nature. While instrumentally they are demanding, at times they seem redundant, since some of the guitar riffs and drum parts are similar. Granted, working within their genre, the band's music is gonna sound similar, yet this seems to a problem most modern tech-death bands suffer from. The production value is great, despite the lack of bass in most songs (shocker). However, the only glaring problem with this album is that it's a little bit generic. The drums pound away, the guitar riffs shred, and the vocalist growls his face off, but somewhere throughout the LP you feel that you've heard this before, and you're right: you have. However, this is not to say the album is without its redeeming qualities: "Lobotomia" features riffs that seem to melt into another, and create quite a brutal song. "Psychotic Redemption" includes good uses of pinch harmonics, minor key riffing, and trilling, while the drums alternate between blast beats and 16th notes on the bass drums. The fade-in during the beginning of "Aprioristic Discharge" creates an eerie effect, and the drumming is top-notch, with good tremolo riffs (the band really likes trem picking), and "Forgotten Faces of Human Prism" features a badass drum fill in the intro. The transition from instrumental "Elegy for the Wretched" into closer "Speeches of Inadequacy" is also quite cool.
Overall, the album is not bad, yet it is not great. Pick it up if you want a brutal slice of tech-death pie, complete with Necrophagist-style guitar riffs, Behemoth-like drumming, and completely indecipherable growls. Hopefully the band will pull an Hour of Penance and take their flaws into account to create a great album.
