Review Summary: Finally, a new Death Metal band that does more than worship their influences. Even better, they’re great. But the vocal mix needs to be turned up more here.
For the band members of Metaphobic, this is not their first time doing Death Metal. The band was previously called Cesspool, until that eventually crumbled. On top of that, the members already have experience in the underground Atlanta music scene. In short, these people know what they're doing, and are quite tight as a result.
Releasing only one demo since their formation in 2021 previous to this, and it’s pretty clear why they got a label offer. It shows a balance between brutality and some experimentation to keep things interesting. It’s a great blend of older, 90’s tech death with more modern elements. It's refreshing to see a new DM band not solely rely on their influences and instead use it to grow.
Not to mention the riffs in general are great.
Okay, so the demo is pretty promising. The album still carries the strengths of their demo, with Spectral Circle having some great stop-and-go action. I can hear the Demilich influences with the angular riffs, but it still keeps the brutality. I do wish the vocals were clearer in the mix, instead being quite buried in the sound. Chunky and angular riffs, semi present vocals, and drums that keep everything rolling.
Mental Deconstruction has a much slower start, which is a bit of an interesting choice so early in the album. But nonetheless it's a great track. The guitar goes into a solo as the bass eventually brings it into the more brutal portion of the song. It doesn't hit as hard as the previous track, but there’s still riffs that tie everything together, and halfway it gets more interesting with another solo.
Execration has more tremolo picking, but the band does it in a way that makes it sound kind of dissonant at times. Then I swear I straight up hear a Demilich riff. It's only for a few seconds but it hits me like a brick. The rest of the song is really solid, with heavier riffs taking over. Then I swear I hear another Demilich riff. The Deja Vu on this song has me feeling a bit uneasy about the track, but everything else about it is great. I know it's weird, but it threw me off so hard it's hard not to bring up.
Another slow opener from Disciples of Vengeance, this one giving off an ominous atmosphere. Then a trombone(?) comes in briefly, and so does the rest of the band. It’s a slow and sludgy track, and the longest, clocking out at 9:20. I do appreciate some nice Death Doom there to surprise me in an album like this. The vocals are even more growling than usual, which pairs nicely with the sludgy and dissonant riffs. The band eventually picks up here and there.
I really like the track. It's slow, sludgy, and dissonant, with a bit of brutality to make sure you’re still there.
Veiled Horizons gets right back into the brutality, complete with tremolo picking, fast tempos, and chunky riffs. But it does remember to slow it down a bit for weird riffs. This is another track that’s stifled by the vocals being so buried in the mix, which is a bit of a shame. But on more of the plus side, the solo is awesome.
Hypnosis Engram is a lot more dissonant than the rest of the tracks, with a solo right away in the background. Again, the vocals are barely there outside of straight up growling. The riffs are interesting as the pace picks up and down again. Overall, it's more of what I expect from this album. Which is not bad at all. Halfway it slows down with a dissonant riff there as the heavier tones behind it. Then at 3:30 the band goes nuts for a bit, which shocked me.
The track pleasantly surprised me just as I thought it was getting a bit repetitive, which is nice.
Reconstructed Grey Matter leans more into brutality with weird riffs to keep me on my toes. Not too much to say on it, but it's still a good track. I thought it might be like Hypnosis Engram in which it might throw a curveball, but I’m still satisfied.
The final track, Insatiable Abyss, has an acoustic break that actually sounds pretty interesting.
Eventually it gets onto heavy and groovy riffs, which shakes things up a bit on their style of brutality. And don’t forget the angular riffs. This is a track that I can just sit and vibe the entire time. It wraps everything that the album does and a little more.
Also, imma get out there how great the album art is. Like the album, the brutality is there, but it's not too much to get in the way of other elements that make it shine. For some reason I just pour over it.
This album is for sure among my favorites to come out in recent years. I was able to vibe with the album pretty fast, and I can confidently say this is some top tier tech death. If you like brutal tech death or death metal on the avant-garde metal side, then check this out. As a fan of both, I’m impressed with how great they are at balancing these two genres.
Recommended Tracks: Insatiable Abyss, Spectral Circle, Hypnosis Engram, Disciples of Vengeance.
