Review: Artificial Brain – Antillia

November 12, 2026

Artificial Brain have become a bit of an iconic staple in modern extreme metal. In a sea of heady technical death metal acts, their sci-fi themed, dissonant discography has allowed the group to stand strong as a critical darling amongst those in the know. That said, it has been more-or-less radio silence from Artificial Brain since their 2022 self-titled LP (beyond a few good live performances). That year also marked the departure of founding vocalist William Smith, the prolific frontman of acts like Afterbirth, Reeking Aura, and Buckshot Facelift. This departure was then followed by drummer Keith Abrami (formerly of Pyrrhon and Shredded) and guitarist Jon Locastro (formerly of Pyrexia and Grey Skies Fallen). This leaves guitarist Dan Gargiulo and bassist Samuel Smith as the only original members left in the band.

With over half of the group’s founding members gone, can this newly formed Ship of Theseus lineup fill in the shoes of their predecessors? Can this new era of the Brain live up to the consistent quality carried between Labyrinth Constellation, Infrared Horizon, and the s/t?

While such a large shift in personnel would offer a potential opportunity for change in the group’s sound, Antillia carries much of the same DNA of the past three works. The framework of the group is still technicality first with notes taken from the blackened melodicism pioneered in Sweden and dissonant, angular death metal groups like Portal and Gorguts. If anything, this new lineup leans a bit more into the former aspect of their sound with lead guitar melodies carried through songs like “Obsidian Agents” and “Against the Furthest Reaches of the Light,” bringing with them a frigid atmosphere that plays off the abstract horror carried in the record’s sounds and themes.

And while the central concepts at the heart of this new Artificial Brain record fail to waver in the face of momentous change, the influx of new creatives leave their touch on the end result. Most noticeably, the iconic, immediate gutturals of W. Smith are now filled in by Inter Arma‘s Mike Paparo, whose roar is evocative of the vocal style on Arma’s New Heaven LP and happens to slot nicely into the fray. Battlemaster‘s Alex Tomlin fills in behind the kit nicely, keeping up with the battering pace of these new tracks and, if anything, Sarmat‘s Oleg Zalman is punching a bit under his weight in terms of inventiveness in playing (although jazz fusion-flavored riffing would probably be overkill at best). These new placements fit the group’s ethos without changing too terribly much in terms of the band dynamic on paper.

Even still, something about Antillia feels slightly lacking in regards to the previous full lengths. Something about the group dynamic feels less cohesive and the resulting sound feels less immensely oppressive than the preceding works. W. Smith’s deep vocals, akin to his work in brutal death metal, helped glue much of the low end assault together, whereas the new vocal combination (both Paparo’s main style and the black metal shrieking that often serves as backing vocals) seems to moreso float on top of the compositions. This, and the actual compositions themselves, results in a record that lacks in terms of density and heft. Those aspects of the sound are sacrificed for a sound that leans harder on technical riffs that build a more cerebral (heh) sound full of jilted, off-kilter rhythms and instrumental interplay that’s less immediately sensical.

Much of this surely can be chalked up to the fact that the new lineup lacks the extensive history that the previous lineup had, having been together for over 10 years. As this newly constructed cerebrum has time to incubate and coagulate, the chemistry should grow between these new members. At the same time, the more jagged style (found both in band construct and riff construction) does work in the group’s favor at times, while the more treble-heavy sound profile does allow for a clearer listening experience.

It’s always tough when attempting to rebuild a band to maintain consistent quality, so it’s understandable that there’s a bit of growing pain within Antillia as the musicians begin to build that internal chemistry to what it once was. In the meantime, Antillia is still a strong showing of befuddling extreme metal that lesser bands can still take note of. I only hope that the new Artificial Brain continues to hone their craft in preparation of records to come.