You can’t help but be both blown away and somewhat bewildered by the sheer breakneck tempo and pinpoint accuracy with which technical death mob Continuum ferociously go about ripping through the 30 minutes or so of their debut full-length.
Much like trying to wrap your head around the theory that attempts to quantify infinity, from which the album takes its subject matter (the unsurprisingly named Continuum Hypothesis), the seemingly non-stop barrage of high-speed kick drums and furious guitarwork from the Californians can prove so baffling at times that it can all make for a less-than-easy listen.
It’s perhaps telling that the most straightforward and instantly palatable track here, the hypnotic nine-minute closer Steppes To Ascension, is also the undoubted highlight, but with that said, short track lengths and a couple of instrumental interludes – even if one is little more than just a drum solo – do help provide what is ultimately a satisfying listen, if you have the patience to absorb everything that’s going on./o:p
