Tech Death Thursday: Cryogenocide and Sundrainer
We’ve got a couple bite-sized offerings for you today of very distinct flavors. Check out the newest from Cryogenocide and Sundrainer!
A couple bits of news:
- Oblivion released a new song from their upcoming album The Path Towards… Look for the full album on November 17th.
- Beyond Creation are the latest tech death band to put out a music video way after an album release, but I can’t complain too much when it’s for my favorite song of theirs. Check out the video for “Earthborn Evolution” and lose yourself in the swirl of emotion.
- Aborted guitarist Mendel bij de Leij (alternatively, just Mendel) has a solo album coming up on October 26th and a new video showing off his ridiculous skill. If you’re into prog and/or guitar worship, then you’ll want to give this a listen.
- Fleshgod Apocalypse experienced a bit of a shakeup in their roster with the departure of frontman Tommaso Riccardi. Drummer Francesco Paoli is returning to his original role as vocalist, with David Folchitto of Stormlord taking over drums and Fabio Bartoletti of Deceptionist picking up lead guitar.
_____________
Did you hear this summer’s Cytotoxin release and think to yourself, “Hey, this is cool, but it could use more slams?” Then Cryogenocide has the album for you! Torn Apart Between Two Gravities plays out like a combination of the aforementioned nuke-obsessed tech outfit with Wormed’s aesthetic, peppered with a wee bit of Voivod-style weirdness. Naturally, you can expect croaking vocals and huge beatdown riffs, but they’re accompanied by an intense rhythm section and some truly labyrinthine guitar passages. The production is clean enough that nothing gets smothered in the murk, but the tone has just enough grit to keep it from sounding too sterile.
Despite only being three songs long, there’s a fair amount of variety on this EP. “Gravitational Gut” sets the stage with its bursts of rapid tremolo picking, chunky down-tuned riffing, abundant blastbeats, and thrashy middle section complete with a fiery guitar solo. Conversely, “Sickening Solar Mutations” sees the guitar taking a backseat to the bass and drums, which drive the song forward with a mixture of groove and speed. These two songs showcase what each part of the band can do separately before they go all-out on “Nebular Vomit,” the album’s closer. Miasmatic dissonance bookends the song, which is built on as much speed and power as the band can muster. It takes a surprisingly atmospheric turn towards the end in which the band brings their melodic side to bear.
As both writers and instrumentalists, these guys go way above and beyond what is generally accepted to be adequate for brutal death metal, and I can’t wait to hear more from them. Torn Apart Between Two Gravities is available digitally from the band and on CD from Rotten Roll Rex. You can follow them on Facebook for updates and probably space slams/jams.
_____________
I’ll admit I might be taking some liberties as to what constitutes technical death metal to squeeze these guys in here, but I don’t think you’ll care once you hear it. Sundrainer play a hideous, dissonant mutation of grindcore with the intent of capturing the modern human experience in musical form. …I Hope This Breaks Your Spirit more than lives up to its name; its atmosphere is utterly dismal and chaotic, and the intricacy of their music adds to the album’s anxious tension in some subtle ways.
As is the case with any grindcore band, emotion is intrinsically linked with the music; as such, the technical elements aren’t the focus, and they feel more like a side effect of an emotion being portrayed at a specific time. This is a good thing, as it makes the effort feel more genuine- when the guitar whips out those crazy lines in between the staggering time signatures in “Failure Burden,” it fits. It’s tumultuous and harsh, but never technical for technical’s sake. Whatever your reasons for listening to it, be it for the music or the atmosphere, you’re going to be satisfied.
…I Hope This Breaks Your Spirit is out now, available at Sundrainer’s Bandcamp. Go say hi on Facebook, too; just be ready for more spirit crushing.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. Be sure to show these guys some support; they’re both really good at what they do, and each of their albums are available for stupidly cheap. Until next time,
Do you have a band you would like to see featured? A new release we should keep an eye on? Or maybe you want to do some writing yourself? Then email us at techdeathtovh@gmail.com and make your voice heard!
