Orphalis - The Birth of Infinity

Artist: Orphalis
Release Title: The Birth of Infinity
Year: 2016
Label: Amputated Vein Records
Genre: Brutal/Technical Death Metal
Tracklisting:
1. Awaiting Ascension
2. Encased in a Higher Intellect
3. Reshaping the Omnipresence
4. Ingrained Absurdism
5. Planetary Reinvention
6. The Atavistic Tide
7. Lay Bare the Loam
8. Hematemesis
9. Swarming
10. Vanished State of Divinity
11. Inferiority Absolved

From their beginning in 2010, German brutal/technical death metal machine Orphalis has been utilizing these methods to create brutal, pummeling material with plenty of ravenous energy and uncompromising technicality. With a new drummer and vocalist in Phillip and Thomas respectively from melodic death metal outfit Man Made Predator, the new outfit charges forth after a four-year gap with their second album released August 12, 2016 from new label Amputated Vein Records,

The main element present here in this one is the fact that there’s a just unrelenting and brutal onslaught of savage riffing present here, moving throughout the album with a dynamic precision managing to mix together the screeching, challenging technical patterns in league with a tightness and devastating series of deep, churning rhythms that makes for a completely devastating concoction. By keeping the material at a fever pitch, the technicality is far more present here which works for the better of the album as a whole with the strikingly complex and challenging arrangements manage to conjure a far more dynamic attack here as it manages to showcase both these challenging arrangements at frenzied patterns but also generates a few occasions of dexterous wankery that comes across as truly more engaging in these spurts. Still, the overbearing chug underlying the album as a whole and the frantic, blasting drumming here make for a truly pummeling workout of brutality that just meshes so well with the crushingly-complex technicality, and when given a spectacular sheen with the futuristic themes and running times it blows away a great deal of other acts here with the ability to construct a fantastic mixture of these styles while maintaining a superb amount of style and individuality without delving into too many cliches or unnecessary elements bogging the material down. There are a few occasions, especially on the second half where the deluge of material beforehand can make the album sound a tad repetitive and monotonous simply through overexposure with all the same-sounding material chugging away throughout here, but it’s a minor quibble compared to how effective and powerful this one strikes.

Though running into the minor element of being just a tad too samey-sounding as this wears on, the fact that this one is still for the most part a striking onslaught of brutality and overwhelming technicality makes this a wholly appropriate and worthwhile listen for any fan into either spectrum of this genre.

Score: 94/100

Does it sound good? Order it from here:
http://amputatedveinrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-birth-of-infinity