Before Daath (Hebrew word for knowledge) signed to Roadrunner Records, they had a self-released debut which hinted at their interest in experimental-based compositions, defying categorisation. Mainly driven by a trio, the band is primarily the brainchild of vocalist Michael Kameron and guitarist Eyal Levi, both of whom also play a good dose of synths when necessary. The duo is backed by second guitarist Emil Werstler while the rest of the lineup is listed as additional musicians, who have by now been replaced by other full-time members.
Musically, the band utilises wide-ranging instrumentation in order to achieve their desired mix of experimental death, thrash, and even black metal performed with considerable technical prowess. At only 33 minutes, the CD makes a weird start with "The One", chock full of processed vocals and African-style percussion, and then ventures into the brutally heavy "Placenta" to introduce their gruelling rhythms and psychotic death metal growls. The songs being too short to actually pigeonhole them into a certain genre, it becomes all the more challenging as "Filter", the third track, makes its way into the mix. The track boasts droning keys strategically placed behind a strong mix of death and clean vocals, effect-heavy guitar parts, and acoustic sound collections. The transitionary "Child Says" re-introduces their heavy edge before "Infestation", the album's centrepiece, kicks off with a tribal drum beat courtesy of session drummer Eric Sanders. Fully drenched in synth layerings, clean guitar harmonies softly soar atop minimalistic acoustic guitars.
Vocalist Michael Kameron exerts a demonic growl on "Concentrate Living" whilst retaining his cold whisper-like chants during the moodier sections. "Blender for the Baby" borders on old-school black metal-styled vocals, supported by rhythm-aware bass and guitar groove. This track is among the weirdest on the album, as, at one point, screamed metalcore-ish vocals are woven into the mix, but that is immediately subsided as the band sport a jazzy freeform improvised section. Having totally surprised the listener, the following tracks come in, offering lots of clean-sung parts most notably on "Slow" and "Just for a Second", still adding in elements of extreme metal, and by the time the last song "Crystasis" begins, one cannot help but wonder if he's still listening to Daath or an eerie combination of Aphix Twin and an obscure metalcore band.
With their sophomore album now releeased, featuring the drum services of Dying Fetus' Kevin Talley, and the superb production job of masters such as James Murphy and Andy Sneap, this band is surely going to find a bigger following. Let's watch them grow tenfold.
Track Listing
- The One
- Placenta
- Filter
- Child Says
- Infestation
- Concentrate Living
- Blender for the Baby
- Slow
- Just for a Second
- Crystasis
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