Album Premiere: Maze of Sothoth – Extirpated Light
So far, so good… Sothoth?
It has been far too long since you’ve been accosted with tech death, and it’s about god damned time somebody did something about it. Now, before you throw your headphones at your monitor in disgust, know that Maze of Sothoth doesn’t sound like what most would think of in the modern tech death landscape. No, they belong to the vaunted Italian Men Going Fast™ microgenre alongside such acts as Hideous Divinity and Hour of Penance, albeit with a more chaotic Origin-like bent to their riffs. For reference, guitarist and founding member Fabio Marasco also plays in Beheaded; though he’s only been with them for a couple years now, his style is a natural fit for that band, and you’ll have a good idea of what to expect here if you’re at all familiar with them.
Ultimately though, I think Beavis put it best in his writeup back in January, describing them essentially as having more in common with old-school death metal acts in their approach to music, and it just happens to be really technical. The riffs are unabashedly chunky and violent, and the guitarists let themselves get unhinged with the leads in a way that few others do in a genre that prides itself on precision. In keeping with that old-school vibe, the bass has this nice round tone to it that pops through really clearly in the mix, which is excellent; Marchesi has some serious chops. If you’ve been on the hunt for something that you can bang your head to but has some real substance behind its meatheaded façade, Maze of Sothoth has you covered. You can stream Extirpated Light right now in its entirety.
Extirpated Light is out this Friday, March 24th.
Bandcamp | Everlasting Spew
