Rings Of Saturn
Embryonic Anomaly ()
Wydane przez Unique Leader RecordsRok wydania Kraj USANapisał Wouter7
Despite having never formally demoed this Californian death metal act now debuts on established regional specialist label Unique Leader Records. “Embryonic Anomaly” was originally released independently in 2010, but now re-issued by Unique Leader upon their signing of Rings Of Saturn. Sounding as a spastic mix of earliest Cryptopsy (“Ungentle Exhumation”, “Blasphemy Made Flesh”) and Brain Drill this band combines inhuman savagery with impeccable technical skill, a progressive leaning not unlike latter-day Death and a sqeaky clean bass-heavy production job. The eerie keyboards remind of Limbonic Art and (pre-“Domination”) Morbid Angel in equal measure. The leads/solos tend to be over-amplified a bit and the performances are almost robotic in precision. That these younglings are stellar musicians is clear, fortunately they fall not into excessive wankery and egotistic showmanship, something that plagues Arsis, Necrophagist and the likes – instead they focus on writing strong songs with a recognizable structure and hook. The grunts are somewhat similar to former Gigan vocalist/guitarist Randy Piro (ex-Hate Eternal). The lyrical concept is much en vogue at the moment, dealing with esoteric and abstract astral subjects, alien invasions and the universe as a whole. Sci-fi is nothing new in extreme metal, as Tampa, Florida veterans Nocturnus did this as early as 1990 with “The Key” and in more recent times bands as Deeds Of Flesh, Gigan and Wormed all wrote records within this concept. The artwork by Tony Koehl (Abysmal Torment, Human Mastication, Infernal Revulsion, Malignancy) is serviceable as ever. As any modern band Rings Of Saturn has their slew worth of breakdowns, but complement this with unexpected jazzy segments and tasteful sound effects. Rings Of Saturn definitely show a lot of potential and promise on “Embryonic Anomaly”- hopefully they’ll shed the last vestiges of their deathcore past and fully embrace their blooming technical death metal potential. For now, they are a name worth remembering.
www.uniqueleader.com
