Record(s) o’ the Month – April 2024

By Steel Druhm

Hot on the heels of the March Record(s) o’ the Month comes the treasure trove for April. April had some heavy hitters, and the staff was as fractious as ever advocating for their anointed favorites. Naturally, AMG upper management listened dutifully, deliberated deeply, and made decisions guaranteed to peeve the underlings. This is the wiolence inherent in the system. This is AMG!!

Replicant’s blend of skronkified tech, disso, hardcore, and OSDM is not for the weak. It’s the sound of instability and mayhem with massive grooves, aggro vocals, and a penchant for herky-jerky, nerve-jangling twists, almost like a forced marriage of Demilich and Gorguts with Internal Bleeding vomiting all over the ceremony. On Infinite Mortality all these elements coalesce into a sickening cacophony of insanity that pushes the boundaries of extreme music as it fucks with your sense of reality. To call this uncompromising is to undersell how toxic the material is and what it can do to synapses with prolonged exposure. This is nasty, insane, contorted music that somehow holds together and makes sense even as it kicks your brain out. As a stunning Kennstrosity stammered, “It’s brutal, it’s smart as hell, and it’s a novel entry in the wild world of skronky death. You’d be remiss to let it pass you by.”

Runner(s) Up:

Inter Arma // New Heaven – Progressive blackened sludge/doom-death crew Inter Arma impressed the masses since they launched their earliest crusades. Fifth full-length New Heaven continues their evolution with a new product that sounds different than its predecessor while retaining the core of the Inter Arma sound. The doom elements are scarce, Portal influences dot the landscape, and the heaviness is insane. Forays into southern rock offer respite and the clash of influences and styles creates a warped, weird experience. It’s a fascinating ride though. As Cherd summed up, “Almost 20 years into their career, I’d say they can do no wrong.”

In Vain // Solemn – Progressive melodeath act In Vain have always been well-received by the AMG brew crew, with their 2018 Currents opus earning especially high praise from Angry Metal Guy Himself. Their slick blend of prog, folk, post-black, and melodeath is engaging and thoughtful, setting them apart from the melo-mob. While they can be pompous and pretentious at times, there’s no denying the quality of the writing and the talent involved as they create sweeping soundscapes and stunning vistas. As an equally pompous El Cuervo expressed, “Solemn is an awe-inspiring release and one that any fan of metal shouldn’t miss.”

#2024 #InVain #InfiniteMortality #InterArma #NewHeaven #RecordSOTheMonth #Replicant #Solemn

Replicant – Infinite Mortality Review

By Kenstrosity

I was never a big fan of Replicant. The New Jersey quartet’s1 sophomore record Malignant Reality earned a high score on this here blog, but it failed to resonate with me at all. It featured solid enough tunes with big grooves and chunky riffs, but for one reason or another nothing stuck. However, every advance single for third LP Infinite Mortality struck a chord, so I snagged the promo in hopes that Replicant were about to turn the tables on me this time around.

Lo and behold, the turns have tabled massively. Still formed on the backbone of sounds established by legends Gorguts and Demilich, Replicant’s third assault throws its considerable heft towards even groovier, riffier, and more impactful material than ever before. Notable influences from brutal death metal, hardcore, dissonant death metal, and even a hint of slam inform much of what Infinite Mortality offers, but in no way do Replicant leave their uniquely intelligent and vitriolic character behind. In fact, these added traits serve exclusively to enhance what Replicant already did well, elevating their uncompromising songwriting to a new echelon of quality.

Luckily for me, I only have to wait a quarter of one second before Infinite Mortality smashes my skull in with an unfathomably ruinating opening quartet of songs. “Acid Mirror” through “Reciprocal Abandonment” show me new worlds of weird, swaggering death metal overburdened with unstoppable riffs and face-ripping solos—some chunky (“Acid Mirror,” “Shrine to the Incomprehensible”), some slithery (“Acid Mirror,” “Orgasm of Bereavement”), and some subtly atmospheric and technical (“Reciprocal Abandonment”). As the album progresses into its second half, more purposeful dalliances with dissonant atmospheres and post-hardcore flourishes function not only as effective spacial reprieves from what would otherwise be a relentless crush, but also as memorable landmarks that help give these songs distinct definition without compromising thematic unity (“Dwelling on the Threshold,” “Planet of Skin”). Even here, though, Infinite Mortality houses some of the record’s hardest-hitting and infectious riffs in this second act, like those burgeoning from album highlights2 “Pain Enduring” and “Nekrotunnel.” This, in turn, further accentuates Infinite Mortality’s wonderfully fluid ebb and flow as one of its great strengths.

Replicant’s tight and expressive performances match one-for-one Infinite Mortality’s buttery smooth songwriting. With such focused skill and immense talent on tap, the band as a unit gains greater flexibility to explore and develop their compositional ideas to their maximum potential at every turn (“Acid Mirror,” “Nekrotunnel”). Granting those ideas a fearsome rhythmic power, James Applegate’s destructive kit work harkens to the blunt force of hardcore, enriched by the frantic verve of brutal technicality (“Reciprocal Abandonment”). Michael Gonçalves’ howling vocals and punchy guitar and bass support play their part as well, primed to engage the fight, flight, or freeze response of anyone who dare approach (“Pain Enduring,” “Planet of Skin”). Peter Lloyd and Itay Keren lift massive weight with their guitars (and, in Itay’s case, also vocals), delivering destructive riffs and weaving together colorful layers of deceptively beautiful harmony (or frightening dissonance) to leads, accents, and solos as any given song requires.

500 words in, and I suddenly realize how difficult it is to come up with anything negative to say about Infinite Mortality. Initially, I believed closer “Planet of Skin” to be overlong at just over nine minutes, and even now instrumental interlude “SCN9A” doesn’t offer much in the way of useful content. I later came to at least appreciate “Planet of Skin” as a horrifying epic through eerie, twisted soundscapes, which eased the impression of bloat significantly, but not entirely. If I were to strain myself reaching for more nitpicks, I could note that most of Infinite Mortality’s six-plus minute songs could also be trimmed to further maximize impact. However, even as I type that line, I lack conviction, debating whether or not I actually believe those words or just feel compelled by a sense of duty to include one more point of critique. The simple truth is that Replicant have me head over heels for Infinite Mortality. It’s brutal, it’s smart as hell, and it’s a novel entry in the wild world of skronky death. You’d be remiss to let it pass you by.

Rating: Excellent!
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: facebook.com/replicantnj | replicantnj.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: April 12th, 2024

#2024 #45 #Apr24 #BrutalDeathMetal #DeathMetal #Demilich #DissonantDeathMetal #Gorguts #Hardcore #InfiniteMortality #Replicant #Review #Reviews #TechnicalDeathMetal #TranscendingObscurityRecords