Tech Death Thursday: Anachronism – Orogeny
We’ve got some unique new brutal death metal from Anachronism today. Let’s get tech!
There’s a shitload of new music on the way:
- Holy FUCK new Revocation! It totally rips, and we’ve already got a track list and release date. Look for The Outer Ones on September 28th through Metal Blade.
- Gorod also just gave us a track list and cover art for their sixth album, Aethra. Keep an eye out for a release date.
- TDT veterans Parius just put out a couple new tunes, and they totally rule. Head here to check out “Phylactery” and “The Boundless” and prime yourself for The Eldritch Horror next Friday, July 20th.
- Mordant Rapture’s debut EP is now streaming in full ahead of its release tomorrow. In terms of raw tech death, this album is nothing short of stunning. Also it’s only $4, so give these guys your monies.
- Soreption continues to be totally sick. Break your damn neck to “Children of the Automaton“
- In less fortunate news for Soreption, one of their guitarists had some visa issues and will not be performing with them on the Summer Slaughter tour. Thankfully, they got Justin McKinney of The Zenith Passage to fill in; given how Soreptiony TZP gets, they couldn’t have made a better choice. Check out this video of him shredding “Engineering the Void” right here.
- Aethereus are doing Obscura better than Obscura these days; go check out their new tune over at Decibel and see for yourself.
- Last but not least, if you just want to get your shred on, give this new tune from Pravitas a shot. Hopefully this is just the first from a new album.
Choosing a band for today was rough. The past couple weeks (and indeed the next few) have been packed with solid releases, and it’s difficult to put any of them above another. Today’s selection just does so many things so well that it was hard to pass on though, so without further ado, I present you Switzerland’s Anachronism.
Anachronism’s music is rooted in the same caustic soil as Ulcerate, but their twisting boughs shoot out in so many different directions that labeling them as just another dissonant death metal band does them a great disservice. While they use a lot of big ringing chords over furious drumming that is a hallmark of the latter band’s style, that only represents one facet of their eclectic sound. Brutal death, slam, a heaping helping of prog, and even some traces of post-metal lie beneath their sprawling canopy, all woven together with stunning cohesion.
Adam Burke’s cover art rules, too.
The aforementioned Ulcerateness doesn’t kick in until about 30 seconds into “Anthropocene,” the band opting instead to bring down a hammering brutal death riff and some meaty drums to introduce you to Orogeny. After navigating the quicksand of the dissonance that follows, we’re hit with a surprisingly pleasant proggy section that quickly collapses under the weight of the huge, chugging chords right after. A quick burst of chaos later and the song closes out with one of the knuckle-draggingest slams you’ll hear all year. You’ll also be treated to a brief but totally ripping guitar solo over said slams.
I know that looks like a complete clusterfuck on paper, but trust me when I say that it works. A couple minutes listening will show you why; the band writes actual riffs, with hooks and direction and repetition, and ties them all together with a clearly defined central theme. And they’re good riffs, too, giving you everything you could want from a muscular death metal tune. Structurally speaking, this isn’t a far cry from what you’d hear from Immolation or Suffocation (or numerous other -ation bands, I’m sure); they’re just a little less conventional in how they approach each individual part of that structure.
Even their approach to dissonance is atypical; you probably noticed it when you hit the middle part of “Anthropocene.” Anachronism uses similar amounts of tension as other dissonant death metal bands, but they tend to favor major chords over the usual diminished or chromatic chords. It’s fairly common practice in prog metal bands to use jazzy chords like this, creating weird tension without being harsh, but juxtaposing these major chords next to super downtuned chugging as Anachronism does creates a wholly different kind of heaviness. Check out the title track for a clearer example of this (and let me know what the opening of that track reminds you of, because it sounds like something else and it’s driving me nuts trying to figure out what).
I could go on from here, but I’m just going to shut up and let the music speak for itself. Orogeny is unique, and very, very good; easily one of the best and most palatable albums in the wave of dissonant death metal we’ve experienced the last few years. You can acquire the album at Bandcamp, and be sure to show Anachronism some love on the Facebooks as well. That’s all for this week, and until next time,
Is your band tech as heck? Got a juicy piece of news or an upcoming release to watch? Send it my way at techdeathtovh@gmail.com and I’ll check it out. I might even talk about it.
