Technical death metal has been in a full-blown renaissance over the past few years, particularly in the most brutal corners of the subgenre’s auspices. Devourment, Unfathomable Ruination, Nile, Wormhole, Disentomb, and a host of others have dropped exceptional records over the past few years, and any list detailing the best releases would be remiss if it didn’t include Spectrum of Delusion’s fantastic debut album Esoteric Entity. We’ve been waiting very impatiently for the band’s follow up, and 2020 (for all its dumpster fire narratives) graces us with their sophomore release, Neoconception, and we couldn’t be more hyped about it. Today, we’re pleased to bring you a track from that record, “Through Mankind’s True Ambition”, premiering exclusively here at Heavy Blog Is Heavy.
While the above listed bands provide some level of sphere for Spectrum of Delusion’s sound, but one can also point to Spawn of Possession and Defeated Sanity as obvious points of reference. If technically dazzling and brutally punishing death metal is up your alley, it’ll be hard to go wrong with “Through Mankind’s True Ambition”. This track is an absolute barnburner, with the guitar pyrotechnics of Frank van Rijswijk and Nathan Bonkerk and the incredible fretless bass work of Jerry Kamer serving as particular high points. The barrage of riffs that pummel your senses create a swirling world of audio punishment that’s as delicious as it is harrowing. Grounded by a snarling, robust vocal performance by Douwe Negenman and Jeroen Mostert’s frantic drumming, there isn’t a portion of the performances on this track that fall anywhere below exceptional. The songwriting here is also a mix of kinetic energy and accessibility, never dipping itself too far into skronk that the quality of the songwriting is lost. For fans of the band’s previous work, rejoice! Spectrum of Delusion has taken another step forward in their artistic journey.
Neoconception drops in its entirety on September 11th, and is available for pre-order through The Artisan Era over on Bandcamp. If you’re a fan of technical death metal that’s equal parts brutal, instrumentally mesmerizing, and wildly entertaining snag yourself a copy now. This one’s going to leave a mark.