Tech Death Thursday: Inoculation – Pure Cosmic Dread
You like space metal? Of course you like space metal. It’s Tech Death Thursday, and Inoculation are welcoming us to the space jam today.
Lots of news for you today:
- If you feel your brutal death metal quota hasn’t been met yet, Post Mortal Possession have a new album on the way that sounds pretty sweet. Check out the first single here, and look for Perpetual Descent on November 17th through Lord of the Sick.
- Just as a reminder that the new Irreversible Mechanism album is out, and the crazy dude at Blood Music made the digital version name-your-price. As usual, I suggest you toss them a few bucks for making a such a seriously good album. You can also check out our review if you want a more in-depth look at it (short version: it’s different, but it’s good).
- Super tech dudes Solipsismo just announced a new album on the way in just a couple weeks. This new material is insanely fast; I’m not exaggerating when I say it gives Archspire a run for their money. Pick up Antología De Maldiciones when it hits at the start of October.
- The Odious Construct dropped a new single on Monday, which you’ll definitely want to check out if you like some strings with your tech. Shrine of the Obscene hits on October 12th.
- More Serocs is never a bad thing. “Nihilus” is fast as fuck, and it makes me miss Spawn of Possession just a little less. Look for The Phobos/Deimos Suite on October 26th.
- Samskaras have a chunky new track streaming over at NCS. Check that out if you’re into Redemptor or older Rivers of Nihil. Lithification is also out October 26th.
- And finally, because I missed it when it first dropped, TDT bros Promethean put out a rad new Lovecraftian single a little while back that DOESN’T have anything to do with Cthulhu. Crazy, right?
Vanilla death metal fans, I’ve been hanging you out to dry lately. It’s been a good long while since TDT has featured a band with you in mind, so we’re going to see if we can rectify that today. Inoculation is a band I only recently became acquainted with, but instantly hooked on. Hit play on that Bandcamp link and read on.
In case the album title and that sweet art didn’t tip you off, are all about space horror. Don’t expect to hear any floaty atmospherics, though; while the band looks to the stars for inspiration, their sound remains firmly rooted to the earth. It’s more Aliens than Event Horizon, if you will. Their music is fast and gritty, going elbow-deep in gory tritones and slimy chromatic runs. It changes course with the same violence and frequency of early Morbid Angel, but the actual riff writing is a little closer in nature to Ghoulgotha and a smidge of that first Blood Incantation EP- just with a couple added layers of speed and filth.
All that said, there is definitely some spacey shit present in Pure Cosmic Dread, as one would expect. The aforementioned chromatic bits meet with short bursts of diminished and augmented riffs, just enough to make it unsettling and never going completely overboard. There’s some pretty cool stuff done with the vocals and solos sometimes, too; the screams are filtered through some kind of flanger in a couple spots, resulting in a sound not far from “Where The Slime Live.” The shredding (which occasionally gets the same treatment) is chaotic, but not in the Kerry King spray’n’pray sort of way; it has enough structure that you can follow it in whatever crazed direction it goes. “Eye of Providence” and “Lunar Illusion 3” have particularly choice solos, and they add to the interstellar theme perfectly.
Worry not, tech fiends, there’s plenty here for you as well. Dirty as the tone is, the production is crisp and clear, letting you hear each note in the fracas. The riffs are generally pretty thick and lack the typical genre trappings, but make no mistake: this is complex music. The structure of some of these songs is super weird, especially with one-measure time changes strewn about, and the horizontal dissonance they employ is sorely underappreciated in most sectors of modern tech.
So while this isn’t the most technical music we’ve ever had here, it IS still some super cool material. Inoculation have nailed this sweet spot between slick and grimy, incorporating the best of both worlds into some mightily satisfying tunes. You can pick up Pure Cosmic Dread now on Bandcamp for a paltry $5, and you can follow the band on Facebook for updates and such. That’s all for this time, so until next week,
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.
