Interview with Eloi Nicod (The Scalar Process)

What a year 2020 was with so much going on while being stuck indoors, I barely got any work done. With it being the start of a new year, the goal is to get back on track and bring even more content, reviews, and interviews in 2021. Starting right now, with an interview from Transcending Obscurity Records own The Scalar Process. The Scalar Process are a tech-death band preparing to unleash their debut release, entitled Coagulative Matter. In the lead up to the release of the album on February 19th, guitarist Eloi Nicod made time to catch up with us and give a little bit of insight into the band's first album.

Tell us a bit about The Scalar Process, where did the name come from?

Scalar is used as a math calculation you can use in a lot of contexts, to calculate speed, weight or distance, in computer science, or in hierarchical scales. It is representative of the atmospheric feeling I want for our music, it has no particular impact on the lyrics, even if sometimes I mention this in a more metaphorical way.

Releasing this year is your debut album, released with Transcending Obscurity Records, how do you feel finally getting the music out there?

It’s been a huge achievement when we finished the album. We were working on it since June 2016. Back in the days, I was writing for The Scalar Process alongside Derealized, a Black/Death Band. After having worked years and years on the songs, the production, we were lucky to see a positive response from Kunal of Transcending Obscurity Records! And then we signed!

 

We are happy to be part of this excellent record label with plenty of excellent bands like Coexistence, Hateful, Cerebrum, Godless Truth, The Last Of Lucy.

What's the backstory on this album, what's the meaning behind the art and the concept of the lyrics?

For the album artwork, I contacted Bastien Jez who already did covers for other bands like Exocrine, Promethean. He did a phenomenal job based on our story. We wanted to describe the whole thematic of the album in one artwork that supports the lyrics. It is about a protagonist who is confronted with his torments and problems which are distant from him in time and space. This is why everything displayed on the artwork is either distant or closer, it emphasizes depression, nostalgia. I tried to compare that with space, hallucinations, and even biblical references, like the Forbidden Fruit.

How was the recording process, did you find there were any issues that came along?

I have my own home-studio, so the recording process was quite easy for me. The main issue remains spending a lot of time searching for a vocalist, mid-range, and of course, available. When my best friend Mathieu came back from Portugal, I told him about The Scalar Process and he tried some vocals. I found my singer this day!

 

Did the current pandemic cause any issues in the recording process for you?

Not at all, because we recorded the album in 2019.

 

Playing and writing tech-death is certainly not easy, what bands inspire your writing?

It is not easy at all, that’s for sure! My main influences are, just to name a few: Fallujah, The Zenith Passage, Cynic, The Faceless.

 

Have you started to make any tour plans for when the pandemic is over?

We are talking with some bands about that, but nothing definitive. We can't know with this pandemic.

Speaking of tour plans, give us a little insight. Who have you shared the stage with, and who would you dream to play with in the future?

We are in the starting blocks, we haven’t shared stages with any other bands yet (and it is due to the pandemic situation as well). However, I can name a few from li ves I did with my old band Derealized. I personally shared the stage with Atlantis Chronicles, Dew Scented, Fractal Universe, Blazing War Machine.

My dream is to play with Fallujah and Cynic!

 

Thank you so much for your time, is there any last messages you would like to leave with fans? Stay Safe! And we hope to see you soon to share the album on stage!

Thank you so much for this interview, take care of yourselves! You can grab our album Coagulative Matter or our sexy merch which will be out on February 19, 2021 through Transcending Obscurity Records.

Flub - Flub Review // The Artisan Era

It's been a good year so far for fans of Death Metal, and the year doesn't seem to be letting up. Just recently, Flub released their new, self-titled album through The Artisan Era. This is a label known for dropping some of the most prolific extreme metal out there, which means it's generally a safe bet that any album with their name on it will be pretty damn good. So, what about Flub? Well, it's time to take a deep dive into their fast paced album.

Right off the bat, this album is introduced as a quite interesting Technical Death Metal release. It kicks off with the incredibly Jazz influenced "Last Breath". The instrumentals throughout this release alternate quite often between the aforementioned jazz inspired Tech Death, straight old school Death Metal and a more Grindcore influenced sound. Bass fans should do themselves a favour and dive into "Umbra Mortis", the intro is purely bass before the track really kicks in. Once in high gear, this song really takes off. There's nothing quite like the keyboard throughout this album and that's another thing incredibly prevalent in this track. The keyboard adds so much depth to the sound and can make a track that may feel shallow, feel emotional and intense.

One of the hardest hitting songs on the album is "Rise From Your Grave", which was also the second single off the album. A lot of this track is very reminiscent of Cattle Decapitation, it has a very intense feel with bits of melody mixed in. The vocals are well spoken, but brutal. Particularly, about halfway through there's a scream that sounds like it's ripped directly from practically any of the later Cattle Decapitation albums. Without delving too far into it, "Rebirth" takes massive influence from The Faceless, particularly in the keyboard and (dare it be said) clean vocals.

If you're looking for a Tech Death album with a whole lot of heart, emotion and logic, Flub has exactly that. This may be the debut release from this supergroup, but it could very easily be assumed that the band would be at least five albums in. You owe it to yourself to check this out if you want some Death Metal with a little more feeling.

9.5/10

Cruelty Exalted "Cruelty Exalted" Review

          “Cruelty Exalted”, the new EP from the band of the same name, is a fantasy themed Technical Death Metal band who, while they stick true to this style, implements some of the best traits other subgenres have to offer, like the harmony Melodic Death Metal has or the speed and intensity of Black Metal. Featuring Alec Cordero on guitars, Todd Farnham on Bass and Yuri Kondra on vocals.

          Instantly, with the first track “Dethroning the Righteous” it becomes obvious the skill this band has as musicians, until about the midway mark, the song is pretty tame really only featuring a very melodic sort of sound, once the song speeds up and jumps into the faster bit though, it's not hard to hear the Technical part of this band. In the last minute, we get to hear everything in overdrive, speeding up even further and surprisingly in this part instead of trying to break into “the craziest solo you'll ever hear” it actually puts a lot more focus on the bass playing to push it along.

          “Callum Incendebat” pulls a lot more influence from Black Metal, taking a much more Melodic and harmony inspired approach to the entire song. Imagine the intensity of Darkthrone infused with the melody of Carcass or early In Flames. The song also taps James Benson (Amiensus) to help push along that Black Metal feel.

          All-in-all, this is a very solid first release from Cruelty Exalted, full of charm and intensity. With the amount of different styles prevalent throughout this EP, it's hard to not find something you could get behind. The only thing I think that can push this band along is a full time drummer, although it is hard to tell that the drums are programmed, some of the sections do seem a little inhuman.

Quantum Hierarchy "Neutron Breed" Review

          If you're into space and Death Metal than let me welcome you to Quantum Hierarchy. This is a Technical Death Metal band with the speed and destruction of a meteor and lyrics to match. Right off the get go, you'll hop into a short intro track and right into the title track, "Neutron Breed", luckily the lyrics are relatively easy to follow, describing the vast emptiness of space. The first track is blisteringly fast, full of hooks and intense musicianship, but does fall short in one section. While the lyrics are easy to follow, the vocals are mixed in slightly too low, as such the rest of the instrumentals are generally overpowering the vocals making them hard to make out without reading the lyrics.

          While I may have a mild gripe with Quantum Hierarchy's low vocal mix, there is a spot where they excel past the vast majority of bands and that's transitioning from song to song. Where a lot of bands want to be as heavy and intense as possible that's generally lost between the end of one song and start of another, while Quantum Hierarchy manage to maintain their intensity throughout all of "Neutron Breed" with perfectly implemented transitions. The EP, while only 3 actual songs (not including the minute intro) and 12 minutes actually sounds like one full song with the way each song transitions into the next, you won't even realise you've listened to the whole thing until it's done.

          Quantum Hierarchy's "Neutron Breed" is an exceptional level of Technical Death Metal, the instrumentals are intense, the guitar solos are, while few, technical and awe inspiring and the lyrics are distance but relative. If you're a fan of bands like Artificial Brain and Beyond Creation and need some SciFi based Death Metal, look no further.

Aepoch "Awakening Inception" Review

          Potentially the biggest release out of Kitchener, Ontario this year is the debut full length album from Death Metal maniacs Aepoch entitled "Awakening Inception". The album is slated to be released here on April 13th with the band going on tour to promote the album across Canada alongside. The album is more than full of influence and for anyone who was a fan of the band's first EP "Aepocolypse", this will be a real treat for you.

 

          For anyone who has seen Aepoch before, you'll be familiar with a fair few of these songs, "Delirium of Negation" (formerly known as "Paradise") is the second track on the album, which stuck out right away as someone who's caught this band on multiple occasions. The instrumentals are pretty defining in a lot of Aepoch's track and none are more prevalent than this one. "Tabula Rasa" is a track that the band has been playing live for quite a while, almost since the first time I had seen them and that was a fair few times ago. "Tabula Rasa" is probably the stand out track on this album for me, its such an intricate piece of music, from the Technical and Progressive Death Metal side of the verses and chorus, to the jazz infused bridge in the middle and the Technical and Melodic mix of the second half the album with the solos. On top of that the lyrical prowess relating to the cosmos and the opening of the third eye are incredibly well written.

          Another track you may recognize from the bands live setting, or just because they released it as a single, is the much more Black Metal infused "Burn Them at the Stakes". If you're a fan of the Technical Black Metal side, much like that of Enfold Darkness, "Burn Them at the Stakes" will be right up your alley. The track, especially with the last 2 minutes or so takes on a much more Emperor sort of approach with the chaotic melody it implements, all before throwing some incredibly technical solos over top and a few fake out endings. While we are on the note of these Black Metal influenced tracks, we have to discuss "Mentally Raped By Christ", which takes a more Blackened Death Metal approach, as opposed to the old school Black Metal approach, much more along the lines of that of Behemoth or Goatwhore. If there was any song I could say for certain is influenced by Enfold Darkness, this is it.

          Needless to say, if you're an Extreme Metal fan in almost any capacity, this is an album you need to check out. Countless levels of influence and an incredible level of musicianship in this release, from the technicality of First Fragment and Beyond Creation, the Black Metal aggression of Emperor and Dissection or the crossover of the two like Behemoth or Enfold Darkness, there's something for you here. On top of that, if you live in Canada, Aepoch will be trekking across the country in April alongside UK Death Metal band Bloodshot Dawn, with their hometown show being treated as the album release show on April 21st.

Rivers of Nihil "Where Owls Know My Name" Review

          Rivers of Nihil are back following the incredible 2015 release "Monarchy", with a new album and a much more lengthy title in "Wheres Know My Name". For anyone who has been following Rivers of Nihil since their inception, following the concept they've been pushing along, this album continues to raise the bar for what this band can do and what's possible in Death Metal.

          Much like with the previous two albums from Rivers of Nihil, "The Conscious Seed of Light" and "Monarchy", this album continues to follow the flow of seasons. "The Conscious Seed of Light" kicked everything off with Spring time, much like the band everything is essentially new, new life grows and shapes the world as we know it, following Spring we have "Monarchy" which symbolises Summer. Summer is an interesting one, it's a season that can shift from peaceful times to a destructive force and the album symbolised this perfectly. The big thing is "Monarchy" put the bands talent as a Technical Death Metal band in the forefront and got them a ton of recognition. Now, we are in the Fall season with "Where Owls Know My Name", Fall is a season progressing towards a much darker emotion and ultimately death and this gleams through in the dark and eerie atmosphere of the saxophone and keyboard parts playing and progressing the albums story.

          One of the biggest draws to me for "Where Owls Know My Name" is not only the fact that Rivers Of Nihil know how to take everything they perfected in their previous releases and continue to add to it, but outside of the eerie atmosphere they added with the inclusion of the keyboard and saxophone parts, they took a note from Melodic Death Metal. This is especially prevalent in the lead single "The Silent Life" as well as the more intricate and expansive "Single Change (Including the Forest of Transition)". The ladder of which is the longest track on the album, clocking in at 8:34, which is quite impressive considering it doesn't feel like a song that drags out at all. Mixed in with the melodic tone, Rivers of Nihil almost decide to take on a DragonForce approach just after the 2 minute mark, transitioning from an intense keyboard solo into guitar solo. From this point the songs tone shifts, becoming move more hectic and sporadic, with the intensity of the instruments pushing the narrative along and you become more and more engrossed by the song, it pulls away with another saxophone section only to lead into the most impressive and technically implemented solo on the album if not Rivers of Nihil's entire discography.

          Front to back, Rivers of Nihil have expanded on everything they've done in the past. "Where Owls Know My Name" is by far the strongest release Rivers of Nihil have released since their strong beginnings more than 5 years ago and there's really no better label for this Death Metal gem to be released through than the renowned Metal Blade Records. "Where Owls Know My Name" will be out March 16th, pick up the album as soon as you can and catch the band on tour with Death Metal tyrants Dying Fetus!

Slave One "An Abstract and Metaphysical Approach To Deceit" Review

        Someone suggested we check out Slave One's newest EP "An Abstract and Metaphysical Approach to Deceit", so we did as we were told and decided to look it up. This is a 4 track EP (3 if you buy it digital, you're missing out on a Dimmu Borgir cover) of Technical, Progressive and Melodic Death Metal that I'm excited to delve into, so let's take a look and see what Slave One has to offer.

        The EP opens strong with "Tunguska" mixing together elements from Progressive, Technical and Melodic Death metal to kick everything off on the right foot. For a good chunk of the EP, I was getting Black Crown Initiate meets Beyond Creation vibes, between the blissful and punishing tones of the instrumentals and the jazz/blues inspired solos the album kicks off perfectly and "Tunguska" alone would be enough to sell me on how good these guys are, but it doesn't end there and Death Metal isn't for one hit wonders.

        "Through Illuminated Void and Meditative Resonance" continues the onslaught with a bit more technicality. The guitars specifically seem more welcome to do their thing and the whole release starts to feel a lot more like something Beyond Creation would drop. The instrumentals are emotional and as stated before, jazz infused. When the song quiets and lets the guitar do its thing, which is quite often in this track, it doesn't sound like the band is doing a solo for the sake of doing a solo, you can hear the blood, sweat and tears put into this EP.

        Slave One knocked it out of the park with "An Abstract and Metaphysical Approach to Deceit" and for any of you die hard Beyond Creation fans waiting ever so patiently for the follow up to 2014s "Earthborn Evolution" this album should help you hold off at least through the holiday season. Absolutely killer Technical and Progressive Death Metal!

Pick up the album on Bandcamp by clicking here!

Ontario Death Fest 2017: Ending Tyranny

        Today is gonna be slightly different, there's a handful of bands on this years bill that I've seen in the past, which means i can do a doule coverage. Talk about the studio music and the live experience, so let's give this a shot with the main support of Friday night: Ending Tyranny. This will be the first Tech Death band to hit the stage this year and these guys do not hold back, this is gonna be fast, heavy and hard hitting and it'll kick you in the face right off the bat. My main experience with this band is having seen them multiple times at this point and practically worshipping the bands latest release "Elovultion of Deceit", anyone who's read my coverage in the past may realise this isn't the first time I've brought up this band.

        Let's start off with the studio experience, last time I saw Ending Tyranny the set consisted mostly of "Evolution of Deceit" songs. These songs are insane and some of the stand outs are "12 Palms" which is pure Death Metal bliss, solos and blasts included, this'll be the track that gets any Death Metal fan moving whether it's in the pit or upfront headbanging. "Faceless Silouhette" on the other hand, is as Tech Death as Tech Death gets, the band straight up rips solo after solo putting bands like Protest the Hero to shame. For the fans who would want somewhere in the middle of those two, you would want to check out "Epitome" a song that had the effect of Old School Death Metal, with the speed and insanity of some of the best Tech Death and even some intense mixes of Melodic Death Metal sprinkled in. Regardless of the type of Death Metal you like, Ending Tyranny have a treat for you somehwere in their music.

        Going on to the live experience, as stated before, I have caught these guys multiple times everywhere from support to headline and they never disappoint. The first time I saw them some guy straight up passed out during their solo! Probably coincidence, but maybe not, maybe the band just over shreded him. Since then I have seen the band play the entire new album in full on a couple different occasions and even more recently, start to show off a new track which kills live. Any Death Metal fan in the area should be drawn to see Ending Tyranny and with how solid their live show is and how tight the band sound live, I'm hoping we will see some new songs at this years Ontario Death Fest!

Ataxia "Awaken the Nebula" Review

        London, Ontario's own Technical Death Metal maniacs Ataxia are here to blow up speakers and get heads banging. The new album "Awaken the Nebula" is a straight to the point Technical Death Metal album that has one of my favourite album covers this year. Let's delve into this Death Metal release and decide if it's worth your time.

        This is an album that kicks off at full speed with "After Birth" which takes hints from the best of Cattle Decapitation and adds its own elements including, but definitely not limited to, Technical Death Metal riffing and Melodic Death Metal rhythm. While "After Birth" shows off the full spectrum of what Ataxia has to offer, "Consign to Oblivion" takes the intensity and speed of old school Death Metal to its peaks. After a short and sweet intro the song kicks up , grabs you by the throat and crushes until the end, letting up at no point in the middle.

        Given the above, what else could need to be added? Take a look at "Internal Ferment" which takes the Technicality to its peak for this album, but actually adds some incredibly unexpected Deathcore elements that are surprising fresh and welcome to the album. The only song on the album that comes off as filler would be "Bludgeoned", while there's nothing particularly wrong with the song it doesn't add anything new to the album. The song is a fast paced Death Metal track with a pretty cool riff that, after hearing over and over becomes a little stale. The song does serve as a good break to the album though as the rest of the album after this point is just as killer as the first half, so at least it can just meld into the other tracks.

        All in all, only having one track that feels kind of dull isn't bad out of the 7 tracks on the album all things considered from a lot of Death Metal bands out there. This is a release that most, if not all Death metal fans should be able to find pleasure in, find Ataxia and the new album "Awaken the Nebula" on Bandcamp to find this heavy slab and let us know on Facebook what you think, are we right to say there's one dud song?

Concert Report: Killitorous, Erimha, The Apex and Ending Tyranny at the DSTRCT in Guelph, Ontario, Canada

                There’s something surprisingly unique about seeing a show that’s not in Toronto. There’s also something special about seeing a band that the last time you saw were playing the big Mayhem Festival stages and now they’re in your face. A nice Friday night in Guelph, Ontario, the university kids were out for a night of drinking when a bunch of Death Metal bands descended on the DSTRCT, a venue on the second floor of a bar that had some smooth jazz going. Upstairs was some “#BlackLivesMatter” party or something, and in the middle was Metal. Killitorous, Erimha, The Apex and Ending Tyranny were about to shake the support of this building.

                The night started a bit late as one of the bands had some troubles arriving at the venue, after a bit of extra waiting we were greeted by Ending Tyranny, who played their new album “Evolution of Deceit” and while it was there first time playing some of these songs, I’m sure another first happened for these guys, almost all the way through their second some someone collapsed! Without missing a beat the band finished, made sure the guy was okay and vocalist Callum Clark goes “what the hell, I missed it!” Some Tech Death goodness knocked this guy right on his ass, must have melted his brain a bit. Clark and the rest of Ending Tyranny, although being a rather small band, have a better stage presence than most bands that have been in the business for 20+ years. While introducing “Faceless Silhouette” Clark was able to joke about “since when did silhouettes have faces in the first place?” When the band came up to the end of their set they were thankful to the crowd and said goodnight.

                The crowd was rearing to go, after some wicked Tech Death that a lot of us didn’t expect to enjoy so much next on was The Apex. These guys were pretty cool having got the chance to talk to Tyson as both a journalist (read our interview) and a fan at the show plus their new album is killer and sounds even better live. The band opened fast and hard with “Contention: Chapter 2” the crowd was wild and ready to rock, showing The Apex what they were made the crowd was getting really into it. continuing with “Promise,” “Means To An End” and “Glass Walls” the band eventually hit “If Detroit Rivers Could Speak” getting the crowd nice and ready for what’s to come and closing out with “Contention: Chapter 1” this crowd was ready to kill and next up was going to be the perfect band to do it to.

                With their new album “Thesis Ov Warfare” released just weeks ago, Erimha were here to show everyone what they had to offer. Donning full corpse paint and performing barefoot the band opened with the first single from the new album “The First Law” and already the pits were going; this was the start of the destruction.  Having played Mayhem Fest in 2014 and toured with Mushroomhead, Erimha were pros at putting on a show, even though this was probably one of the smaller venues they had played in quite a while, they gave it their all. Blazing through their set with new songs the band introduced one from “Reign Through Immortality” although not “Verdict of the Soul” (which later, vocalist Gore told me they removed for a new song at this show specifically) the band roared into “Condemned To Desolation” and the pit grew to scary sizes for this small venue, nowhere was safe while the band played. “Fragmented Existence,” the song played to replace “Verdict of the Soul,” was (almost) worth still not having seen “Verdict” and after a few more songs, t was the end and onto the final band of the night.

                This is where things got real insane, using their own lights instead of the house lights and getting everything ready, Killitorous took the stage. This band has their own sense of humour that almost can’t be paralleled and it’s a crazy contrast from the sternness of Black Metal that Erimha has to offer. The band played a bunch of their hits like “’Til Death Do Us Party” and even inviting Ending Tyranny’s Callum Clark back to the stage for “Geore Castanza’s Father’s Son” the band made a ton of new fans with the level of silly Tech Death. At one point the band asked “does anyone like the movie Ace Ventura” which was greeted by a fan yelling “CANNIBAL CORPSE” and the band played 2 seconds of “Hammer Smashed Face” the band was coming up on the end of their set. Which I think a lot of people welcomed seeing as it was like 1:15am at this point. Playing through “No Not The Bees” and “It’s Not Stanley, It’s Stan Lee” the band made their way off the stage and the crowd was done. I’ve never seen a crowd so out of energy after a show, it just shows how much these bands has these people using.

                After the show I got to talk with the awesome dudes in The Apex and got some stuff signed by Erimha and finally got to meet all of them. The crowd made their way out looking thrilled to have experienced that level of awesomeness, everyone was making friends outside and all in the, the night was successful. All these bands are worth seeing live and if given the chance, I will see any and all of them again.