Tech Death Thursday: Abhorrent Decimation
All is dust in the wake of Abhorrent Decimation. Prepare yourselves for Tech Death Thursday.
A few quick news items first:
Perennial douchebag Michael KeeneThe Faceless have a new song out, presumably with an album to follow. They’ll also be hitting the road with After the Burial, Rings of Saturn, and Toothgrinder starting in November. Check out “The Spiraling Void,” and look for tour dates in the description.- Weedly-wizards Arkaik dropped a new single from their upcoming album last week. Look for Lucid Dawn at the end of the month on Unique Leader.
- Prog-death newcomers Lurid Memory have a new EP out on Funeral Noise entitled Dematerializing. Check them out at Bandcamp for some sweet tunes and equally sweet album art.
- Deformatory have a new album on the way, due out December 12th. Turn your ears to “Infernal Gateway” and maybe find something to hide under. The vocalist sounds like he wants to eat your head.
Sometimes, it’s best to lay off the fretboard acrobatics a little and just write some killer riffs. In the world of tech death, this usually just comes in spurts. Sometimes, it’ll just be a bridge or an intro. Other times, it might last a whole song. Every now and then, however, a band will do this for an entire album. This phenomenon is known as death metal. “But Spear,” you whine, “isn’t this Tech Death Thursday? What’s a non-tech band doing here?” First off, shut your face hole. This is my column and I’ll do what I want with it. Second, it’s not that Abhorrent Decimation aren’t technical; they’re just not “tech death,” despite what the giant purple space monster on the cover may have led you to believe. Hit play and you’ll see what I mean.
Miasmic Mutation’s greatest strength is the songwriting. They strike a perfect balance between brutality and catchiness on each hook-laden song, with riffs that will plow their way into your brain with a force of a bulldozer before settling in for awhile. Even when the guitars and drums are trading blasts and spiraling chromatic bursts, they stick with you. That’s where the tech aspect comes in, too. Besides the sheer speed at which the music is delivered (maybe not Archspire-fast, but still really fucking fast), there are a few complex parts that show up when appropriate. The solos, though infrequent, are also pretty wild. Better than that, though, is that they fit. There’s no mindless shredding here, even over non-melodic riffs. In that way, they’re reflections of the album as a whole. Nothing is wasted; there is no fluff, no padding, no filler.
Miasmic Mutation is available now in all its poser-crushing glory. The digital version is available on Bandcamp, and CD’s can be purchased through the band’s website.
That’s all for this week. Tune in next week, when I’ll be posting nothing but Par Olofsson artwork!
