{"id":23438,"date":"2015-04-14T13:00:27","date_gmt":"2015-04-14T18:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=23438"},"modified":"2015-04-14T13:27:25","modified_gmt":"2015-04-14T18:27:25","slug":"review-alkaloid-the-malkuth-grimoire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/review-alkaloid-the-malkuth-grimoire\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Alkaloid – The Malkuth Grimoire"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In my experience, super groups tend to be a mixed bag. On one hand, it\u2019s cool to see a handful of well-known and respected musicians collaborate on an album. On the other, they\u2019re almost always a letdown. For example, let\u2019s look at last year\u2019s Killer Be Killed<\/strong>, composed of Troy Sanders (Mastodon<\/strong>), Max Cavalera (ex-Soufly, Cavalera Conspiracy<\/strong>), Dave Elitch (ex-The Mars Volta<\/strong>), and Greg Puciatio (The Dillinger Escape Plan<\/strong>). Though the record they put out was certainly listenable<\/a>, it felt like the whole thing was phoned-in. These are all accomplished artists with impressive bodies of work, but nothing on their debut album was particularly noteworthy. The potential for something amazing was there; they just didn\u2019t capitalize on it.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, this is not the case with Alkaloid<\/strong>. Formed by tech-death veterans Hannes Grossmann (ex-Obscura<\/strong>), Christian M\u00fcnzner (Spawn of Possession<\/strong>, ex-Obscura), Linus Klausenitzer (Obscura, Blotted Science<\/strong>), Danny Tunker (Aborted<\/strong>), and Morean (Noneuclid, Dark Fortress<\/strong>), Alkaloid are every bit worthy of the title \u201csuper group.\u201d With a lineup like this, one could reasonably expect The Malkuth Grimoire<\/em> to be built on hyper-shred and blastbeats. However, one would be wrong; it\u2019s abundantly clear that Grossmann and company wouldn\u2019t be content with resting on their laurels.<\/p>\n

\"Alkaloid_Band_The_Malkuth_Grimoire<\/a><\/p>\n

Right off the bat, the band shatters any preconceptions of being a tech-death band in the traditional sense. Opening track \u201cCarbon Phrases\u201d is a spacey mid-tempo piece that sets the mood for the majority of the album. From the dissonant chords lurking beneath a menacing bass line and twinkling harmonic cascade on \u201cCthulhu\u201d to the \u201cDyson Sphere\u201d series\u2019 swing theme that grows more menacing with each track, the whole album has a sinister otherworldly air about it. This alien atmosphere is accentuated by Morean’s vocal performance.\u00a0Even during the album’s more traditional-sounding prog moments (“Orgonism” could almost be a lost\u00a0BTBAM<\/strong> track), it’s his mixture of mid-range cleans, earthy growls, and deep throat singing that sets the band apart.<\/p>\n