This Internet-based, raw Technical Death and Black Metal-influenced trio is ready to disturb your peace with the pulverizing 30 minutes of music found in their debut EP.
Hailing from Burlington, a city in northwestern Vermont, in the United States, Internet-based, raw Technical Death/Black Metal-influenced trio Pyrrhic Salvation is ready to kill with their debut EP entitled Manifestum I, clocking in at just under 30 minutes in length across four highly ambitious and eclectic songs along with one shorter instrumental piece. Mixed and mastered by the band’s own drummer and bassist Sagar Nadgir, and featuring a fiery, crimson artwork by The Lung Swarm, Manifestum I will appeal to fans of bands the group cites as sources of inspiration such as Hate Eternal, Vital Remains and Immolation, among others, showcasing all the talent and fury of Chrisom Infernium (of Veilburner) on vocals, Michael Altobello on the guitars, and Sagar Nadgir (of Carcinomic) on drums and fretless bass.
Void Mass Revulsion is brutal and demented form the very first second, with Chrisom leading his crew with his infuriated roars while Michael slashes his stringed axe in great fashion, all of course boosted by the demented beats and sick bass lines by Sagar. Then the instrumental interlude A Martyr… will penetrate deep inside your psyche, darkening your thoughts before the trio comes crushing once again in …to Never Awaken, where Michael keeps extracting wrath and fury from his riffage while Sagar hammers his drums mercilessly in a vile display of Dissonant Death Metal. Needless to say, the gruesome guttural by Chrisom will haunt your damned soul for all eternity. In the infernal Revelations of Agonies to Come we face five and a half minutes of insanity and heaviness blasted by those unrelenting metallers, displaying another superb job done by Sagar on bass and drums and, therefore, resulting in a puissant fusion of Technical Death Metal with the rawness of old school Death Metal. Lastly, the trio offers us all seven minutes of darkness in the form of Those That Dwell, with Sagar once again showcasing all his dexterity and rage behind his drums while the music flows infernally until the very last second.
“We wanted to bring the idea that technical death metal with a variety of influences can be done with a very raw, unfiltered voice to it, and the result was kind of unexpected with all of this. It was kind of what we all wanted to hear, being that a lot of studio process in death metal – while it sounds great and is purposed – is also very perfected. We aimed to take that away from what we were doing, so if you hear us mess up somehow, it’s because we are still just people trying to play this. We do our best and no less,” commented the trio about their debut effort, and let’s all agree they more than succeeded in bringing to us their version of Dissonant Death Metal. Hence, don’t forget to give them a shout on Facebook to tell them how much you enjoyed the music found in Manifestum I, and of course if their version of Death Metal is your cup of tea you can support the band by purchasing their EP from their own BandCamp page. And now let’s wait to see what type of dementia in the form of Death Metal those three metallers will provide us with in their future releases.
Best moments of the album: Void Mass Revulsion and Revelations of Agonies to Come.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2022 Independent
Track listing 1. Void Mass Revulsion 5:52
2. A Martyr… 1:17
3. …to Never Awaken 7:55
4. Revelations of Agonies to Come 5:30
5. Those That Dwell 7:08
Band members Chrisom Infernium – vocals
Michael Altobello – guitars
Sagar Nadgir – drums, fretless bass
The emotions of being wrongfully imprisoned turned into an ass-kicking hybrid of Technical Death Metal and Symphonic Black Metal by a sensational metal unity from Arizona.
Tempe, Arizona-based Technical Death Metal/Symphonic Black Metal hybrid act Singularity is back from outer space to pulverize our senses once again with the release of Places of Chains, the follow-up to their highly acclaimed 2014 self-titled debut album and their 2016 EP Void Walker. Since their formation in 2010, the band now comprised of Jack Fliegler (ToxicxEternity, Hemoptysis) on vocals and guitar, Adam King (Depraved Heretic, Arkaik) on bass and vocals, and Nathan Bigelow (Arkaik, Alterbeast, Solar Impulse) on drums, not to mention keyboardist Nick Pompliano (R.I.P), who sadly passed away during the creation process of the album in 2018, has continually shown themselves to be a forward-thinking act, one with a bold vision built on fusing Technical Death Metal and Symphonic Black Metal together in a myriad of ways. In other words, let’s say this talented American entity was capable of uniting the best of both worlds in Place of Chains, bringing forth music that has at the same time the intricacy and aggressiveness of Death Metal with the beauty and mystery of Black Metal, and the final result is absolutely stunning to say the least.
Mixed by Mike Low (Inferi, Oubliette), mastered by Zak Denham (Anagnorisis), and featuring additional orchestrations on every track by Malcolm Pugh (Inferi, A Loathing Requiem) and a futuristic and apocalyptic artwork by Justin Abraham, who has already worked with several excellent bands like Equipoise, Inanimate Existence, Lecherous Nocturne, A Loathing Requiem, Virulent Depravity and Æpoch, among several others, Place of Chains will undoubtedly and strongly appeal to all fans of bands like Fleshgod Apocalypse, Old Man’s Child, Dimmu Borgir and the first album from Irreversible Mechanism. “Place of Chains is the translation to the song title ‘Desmoterion’ which lyrically illustrates the emotions of being wrongfully imprisoned. Considering that many of the songs on this record lyrically are about enslavement, we felt it was a good over-arching title for the record. We strongly believe that this is the best Singularity record so far. Singularity would also like to thank our guest artists that we had the privilege of having on this record. With every record, we try to further hone in on what the core of Singularity’s sound is and what we want to bring to the world of metal,” commented the band on the release of their newborn spawn.
Bellum, a cinematic and incendiary intro led by the futuristic orchestrations by guest Malcolm Pugh, sets the stage for Singularity to smash us all in Victory or Death, featuring Jared Christianson (Arkaik) as a guest vocalist. Showcasing lyrics that invite us all to war (“Let the games begin / Your legions are chosen for a tournament / Worthy of the ages / The astral arena beckons your names”), this is a first-class Technical Death Metal tune where Jack is astounding with his riffs and solos while Nathan sounds like a stone crusher on drums, not to mention the intricacy and groove flowing from Adam’s bass. And in Sisyphean Cycle an ominous intro evolves into a doom-ish feast of Symphonic Black Metal the likes of Dimmu Borgir infused with Death Metal nuances, where Adam continues to impress with his thunderous bass jabs while the keys by Nick bring an extra touch of malignancy to the overall result.
Guest vocalist Jeremy Davis (Animus Complex) brings his own dosage of lunacy to Ritual of Regret (by the way, check the band’s amazing guitar playthrough for it HERE), a song that begins in full force spearheaded by Nathan and his insane beats while Jack and Nick have a healthy and thrilling “riffs-versus-keys duel”, leaning towards pure Symphonic Black Metal at times. Furthermore, all of their roars reach a true demonic level as the music progresses, also bringing to our ears sensational razor-edged guitar solos. Back to a more technical mode, Singularity offer us all Consume and Assume, a fast and intricate Death Metal chant perfect for slamming into the pit, all embraced by the whimsical keys by Nick and also featuring a guest guitar solo by Nick Padovani (Equipoise, Virulent Depravity), who co-composed the song with the band; whereas in Desmoterion you better get ready for over seven minutes of pulverizing Technical Death and Black Metal with all band members being in absolute and demonic sync, bringing forth an imposing and epic atmosphere for our total delight. The song’s vocals couldn’t sound more infernal and wicked than this, as well as its piercing guitar solos and all breaks and variations, resulting in a full-bodied aria by this talented metal unity.
In the berserk Serpentes, Eternal not a single space in the air is left empty, with the Stygian words vociferated by Jack and Adam (“Far below / Beneath black earth and snow and decay / Residing under ice and rot, they seek / Surface world never knows / Eyes like fire, these Serpentine / Hearts beat steady as the ancient ones”) shining amidst a feast of slashing riffs and solos, rumbling bass lines and unstoppable blast beats, followed by Dead Receptors, co-composed by Singularity and John Low (the band’s former drummer), which sounds like a hybrid between classic and a more technical version of Death Metal with a stylish twist, as if it was a dark and devilish “waltz” where the vocal lines alternate between obscure Black Metal moments and full Death Metal roars. And last but not least, As Dark as This Nefarious Night is another onrush of darkened and complex sounds by Singularity where Nathan once again delivers sheer violence on drums, while Jack and Adam make our heads tremble with their respective riffs and bass punches, ending in a visceral and epic manner.
You can enjoy this striking album of technical and symphonic extreme music in its entirety on YouTube and on Spotify, but of course in order to show your true support to the guys from Singularity, and as a tribute to the deceased Nick Pompliano, you should definitely purchase your copy of the album from The Artisan Era Records’ webstore, from Singularity’s BandCamp page, from Apple Music or from Amazon. Also, don’t forget to give them a shout on their official Facebook page, as I’m sure the band would love to hear your thoughts on Place of Chains. Now it’s time for Singularity to give life to their creations on stage while promoting their new album (which means you should definitely keep an eye on their live tour announcements) before heading back to their spacecraft and begining the writing process of their new material, and I personally can’t wait to see what those skillful and hardworking guys from Arizona will provide us in their future releases.
Best moments of the album:Victory or Death, Ritual of Regret and Desmoterion.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2019 The Artisan Era Records
Track listing 1. Bellum 2:44
2. Victory or Death 3:39
3. Sisyphean Cycle 6:26
4. Ritual of Regret 3:07
5. Consume and Assume 4:50
6. Desmoterion 7:07
7. Serpentes, Eternal 4:39
8. Dead Receptors 4:03
9. As Dark as This Nefarious Night 5:08
Band members Jack Fliegler – vocals, guitar
Adam King – vocals, bass
Nick Pompliano (R.I.P) – keyboards
Nathan Bigelow – drums
Guest musicians Malcolm Pugh – additional orchestrations
Jared Christianson – vocals on “Victory or Death”
Jeremy Davis – vocals on “Ritual of Regret”
Nick Padovani – guitar solo on “Consume and Assume”
Hailing from Burlington, a city in northwestern Vermont, in the United States, Internet-based, raw Technical Death/Black Metal-influenced trio Pyrrhic Salvation is ready to kill with their debut EP entitled Manifestum I, clocking in at just under 30 minutes in length across four highly ambitious and eclectic songs along with one shorter instrumental piece. Mixed and mastered by the band’s own drummer and bassist Sagar Nadgir, and featuring a fiery, crimson artwork by The Lung Swarm, Manifestum I will appeal to fans of bands the group cites as sources of inspiration such as Hate Eternal, Vital Remains and Immolation, among others, showcasing all the talent and fury of Chrisom Infernium (of Veilburner) on vocals, Michael Altobello on the guitars, and Sagar Nadgir (of Carcinomic) on drums and fretless bass.
“We wanted to bring the idea that technical death metal with a variety of influences can be done with a very raw, unfiltered voice to it, and the result was kind of unexpected with all of this. It was kind of what we all wanted to hear, being that a lot of studio process in death metal – while it sounds great and is purposed – is also very perfected. We aimed to take that away from what we were doing, so if you hear us mess up somehow, it’s because we are still just people trying to play this. We do our best and no less,” commented the trio about their debut effort, and let’s all agree they more than succeeded in bringing to us their version of Dissonant Death Metal. Hence, don’t forget to give them a shout on Facebook to tell them how much you enjoyed the music found in Manifestum I, and of course if their version of Death Metal is your cup of tea you can support the band by purchasing their EP from their own BandCamp page. And now let’s wait to see what type of dementia in the form of Death Metal those three metallers will provide us with in their future releases.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 