Review Summary: A stoic breathing in a concrete coffer.
Cytotoxin’s ascent to the higher ranks of modern technical / brutal death metal has been a meritorious one, considering their almost linear evolution from the chopper debut “Plutonium Heaven” in 2011, to the recognized breakthrough third album “Gammageddon” in 2017. Taking advantage of that momentum, the band proceeded with the incredibly powerful “Nuklearth” in 2020, which, with its abundance of bombastic tech-death entertainment and grim narratives of Chernobyl devastation, had all the necessary characteristics of a landmark release for the genre. Entering “Biographyte” five years later, Cytotoxin are still undeniably forceful and brutal, yet the new record may not achieve a distinct, lasting impression as much as its predecessor.
Opener “Hope Terminator” immediately employs frenetic guitar lines and arpeggios with wings in the same manner as you’ve heard before from bands like Brain Drill or Beneath the Massacre, and such incendiary is the nature of the whole album. Cytotoxin go all in with formidable character and raise waves of pure technical chaos, attempting to sound more straightforward and even heavier than before. In between Geiger counts, heavy breathing and a loud and clear production, “Biographyte” features unhinged death metal as it was taught by Origin and the likes, but always staying easily recognizable as a Cytotoxin work. Tracks like “Condemnesia”, “Transition of the Staring Dead” and “The Everslave” graciously deliver the expected fireworks, and the whole album pumps with hooks, hefty grooves and shark-fast guitar riffs in great quantities. It may be difficult to dislike this at first listen with so much adrenaline oozing from every angle, but still for me it eventually feels like the band didn’t attempt to push its creative boundaries the way it has done up to now.
In “Biographyte”, there is a certain overreliance on core-infused elements that dilutes what are otherwise hyperblast-fueled death metal compositions, which marks the first time that the band’s inspiration or prowess came into question in my head. A disparity in quality arises between different parts, sometimes even within the same track, that disturbs the flow in a way that was unimaginable when experiencing the complex matrices of riffing, soloing and wild vocals from this band in 2020. That’s the case, for example, with the explosive opening of “Bulloverdozed” and its almost indifferent middle part, or the superfluous hardcore style, slowed-down ending of “Behind Armored Doors”, or even the breakdown that breaks “Hope Terminator” (a generally great track) in half. I utterly enjoyed the thunderous guitar lines and epic ending in “Eventless Horizon”, which is in my opinion the highlight, and has significantly more meat to chew than, e.g., the predictable self-titled piece.
Some extra variety is introduced with the two instrumentals, the acoustic “Deadzone Desert” that connects nicely with the heavyweight “The Everslave”, and the eerily narrating “Revelation” right before the closer “From Bitter Rivers”, which unfortunately isn’t amongst the most memorable tracks of the album for me. In total, “Biographyte” has considerable merit and definitely doesn’t lack delivery or attitude, but in the end I was left with a sense of longing for the unreal sequences of their material from the previous two albums. It still doesn't hold back, blasts ferociously, and with a markedly cleaner sound, shows that Cytotoxin are at the very least, still ambitious and restless.
