It’s hard not to be impressed by the imposing musicianship on display as Colorado’s ever-improving technical death crew let rip with the sweeping orchestration, razor-sharp technicality and fierce riffs of opener Proponent For Sentience I – The Conception.
It sets a high bar, but as new vocalist Riley McShane leads the charge through the crushing double hammer blows of All Hail Science and From Nothing, the five-piece more than match up to it as they push their progressive leanings in ways that admirably live up to the epic nature of the sci-fi tale that informs this, it must be said, somewhat samey concept album.
Such is the quality of the musicianship on offer that even the potentially jarring inclusion of extended flamenco guitar passages hat bookend Gray Matter Mechanics – Appassonata Ex Machinea feels perfectly at home when set against the comparatively straightforward machine-gun brutality of the likes of Cognitive Computations. This is band on top of their game.
