RSS Feed


EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT
Reptilian Agenda

Deepsend (2014)
Rating: 8/10

Back for another bite, California’s Embryonic Devourment reach album number three in their quest to extract spines and munch on innards with their technical battering ram of extreme metal.

It’s been almost four years since 2010’s Vivid Interpretations Of The Void, but Reptilian Agenda is a natural – or should that read, unnatural! – progression from the last opus, as the quartet continue to showcase their talents regarding technical blast-beasts, unusual structures, jarring passages and quizzical melodies.

Reptilian Agenda runs for merely 30 minutes, and throws eight tracks at us which whizz by at such a force that it takes several listens to fully appreciate the technical prowess of this conspiracy-themed platter. High on the idea that there is some type of reptilian lineage within the human race, Embryonic Devourment decide to give us their theories via peculiar arrangements, phlegm-ridden vocals and hints of melody which lead us in via bubbling bass, juddering drums and molesting guitars, only to spit us out at the other end. These dudes are magicians when it comes to combining old school death metal with completely alien textures; never relying on silly pastoral ambience, they simply batter throughout each track, but never once rest on their laurels.

Whether it’s the bewildering opener ‘Challenging All Forms Of Hope’ or the conspiratorial battering of ‘Masonic Angel Dust’, one thing is for certain: Embryonic Devourment are masters of their grisly trade. Forget modern technical death metal which leaves me cold, this crazy combo have such a staggering array of intricacy that I’m finding myself constantly skipping back over the previous segment to take it in. The band can savage the ears with pace (‘Blood Gift’) or bemuse the brain with diversity (‘Sealed With Resin’). While we emerge none the wiser to their esoteric mumbling, Reptilian Agenda is a beast of brutality and complexity boasting constant time changes, bizarre percussive twists, and spasmodic melody, and it’s impossible not to plummet into this web of deceit and intrigue.

Pick out any track at random, or let this behemoth play from beginning to end. Either way, you’ll emerge bruised and bleary-eyed from those bass punches, drum jabs and tight-as-hell arrangements. And yet, despite the complexities on offer, Reptilian Agenda is far from being a self-indulgent act of twiddling and doodling, with every track emitting a waft of chaos yet accessible brilliance.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share