Review Summary: A 10,000bpm exercise in ass-kicking. You are not ready.
Origin are a band requiring little to no introduction in the extreme metal scene, but for those unfamiliar, they are one of the fastest and most complex bands in death metal. Their drums are played inhumanly fast, the guitars blend rapid alternations of singular notes with hyper-fast flurries of sweep picking, and this all blends together to create a cacophony of noise almost unmatched in the scene. It will be a turn-off for those more conservative metal fans, but for fans of breakneck speeds and cunt guitars, Antithesis is an absolute gem.
The band wastes little time before kicking you in the teeth with opener The Aftermath, which lays the blueprint for the rest of the album with its ludicrously fast string skipping riffs and blistering tremolo-picked power chords. When the band slows down the pummeling for one riff, it isn't to go soft, but instead to prepare the listener for the beatdown that ensures. The sweep picked riff will separate the men from the boys, and the sheer chaos of the second half of the song, where all general songwriting sense goes out the window, is incredible. For comparisons, think a more unhinged Necrophagist, without any of the semi-melodic guitar work in favor of C-tuned brutality, with faster blasts and more sweeps than you can imagine without experiencing it.
Of course, the album would not be great if it were just a random mish-mash of sweeps, blasts, and chaos. Finite finds the band really flexing their songwriting chops, opening with their trademark finger-shredding riffing, before later allowing time for a mid-paced riff, before exploding again. This album does not let up, and closes in the best possible way, with the title track. This is the longest song on the album, and to say it rules does it an injustice. Hawks would dig it, as would NoTrap, and that is really all that matters on this here site. The solo that brings this song to an end is probably the standout moment, with an atmospheric and emotional sound despite the fact it is really nothing more than hyper-fast sweep-picked patterns.
This is an album for fans of technical music and death metal with no frills. If you are into the more extreme works of bands such as Cryptopsy, with the more technical leanings of Necrophagist, but without the pretentiousness of Sylosis, then this is the album to jam. Is is exceptional, and a true masterpiece in its genre, bludgeoning you to within an inch of your life and giving no ***s whilst it eats your cereal as you do the chores for it. This is a 10/10 work of art.
. Saw them tour on this riiight before the kicked out james Lee, shit was mindblowing
