Review Summary: From the hive, a new age.
I tend to treat the hype around technical death metal albums with a grain of salt. Usually, it’s a case of a presser reading “members from ex-death metal groups combine to unleash brand new sound that will rock your grandma’s self-stitched socks off” and while there
is [generally speaking] something of interest to be found in a supergroup roster releasing brand new material. I find that most of these album’s attention is short-lived—falling victim to similar trending releases either in the same or next year. In some cases, it’s a case of “one-and-done” and we never hear from these acts again. It's a shame really, especially as there are [occasionally] some albums undeserving to be lost in the crowd. A few that, despite the odds, release music that is both
interesting and
good.
The Hive Mind Chronicles Part I: Parasitica, now shortened to
...Part I: Parasitica (in case we need to moderate attention spans), is actually an album well on its way to setting up this sci-fi tinged death metal act. Exuvial have released one of the year’s more explosive debuts and it’s only an hour long!
Yes, that matters. For all my gripes with potential new supergroups hitting the scene with [mind blowing[/i] and so-called
innovative takes on the genre, most acts become superfluous either in the amount of tracks they allow on their final product or fail to trim the fat on their own self-indulgence. Of
...Part I: Parasitica’s eleven tracks, only two surpass the seven minute mark, while the introduction and instrumental pre-closer help spread this modern spray of technical death metal apart. “Hive Mind:” zero through three are full-force; a cutting edge modern display of the type of death metal contemporaries like The Faceless, Fallujah (who drummer, Andrew Baird used to perform with), The Zenith Passage and Rivers of Nihil perform…perhaps without the saxophone and/or the substance abuse issues depending on which variant of those bands you associate this with. Regardless, the sound here isn’t just
clean, it’s beyond polished; a correlation between the album’s subject matter of artificial intelligence becoming hazardous to the human race or victim to tech death’s need to overdue everything to the nth degree? You decide. Either way, it completely
works here. Every lead, blast and growl can be heard, it’s only the bass that falls victim to the maxima en masse.
“Advent of Segmentation”, while one of the record’s longest tracks is massive. Guitar leads trade back and forth, but it’s the left-field interlude that shows that Exuvial can lean into a proggier, more expansive side to their songwriting. It’s one of
...Part I: Parasitica’s more interesting sections. If only they’d lean into it more, or better yet, let it define them. Further along (and the almost nine minute), “Hypermanipulation” continues flexing on the modern death metal tropes. As always, there’s a lot going on—a host of ideas brought together as if Exuvial are on a deadline. “Parasitica” as a titular track definitely is a definite placeholder, by centering this particular track around groove and
brutality it acts as a discernable and completely accessible reference point for the rest of the record. Its atmosphere is downright wholesome, even to the completely expected, but
totally impressive guitar solo. The track’s last minute is a flurry of riffs and breakneck instrumental wizardry. The saunter of “Subterranean Swarm” is equally impressive, if not a little djent-y.
Weirdly enough it’s difficult to discern if the front or back of
The Hive Mind Chronicles Part I: Parasitica is stronger and listeners should be grateful for that blessing. Exuvial have released a record worthy of some of the year’s more important accolades, including that which includes its debut status. There is a lot going on throughout this hour-long demonstration of modern death metal to which we’ve all heard similar and yet, a voice independent from the plethora of similar acts
is emerging. I do hope I’m wrong, that these guys will continue releasing music. That this isn’t simply another flash in a pan. If this is the baseline, more Exuvial music is sure to remain interesting for years to come.
