Montreal's Beyond Creation have been pumping out quality material for the past decade, and have found themselves at the forefront of modern technical death metal. While their latest record, Algorythm, is technically sound, it isn't particularly interesting and does little to further the genre or their legacy.
The band bring more progressive elements into their sound than other tech-death acts, which can be an advantage for some, but here it leads to songs overstaying their welcome. "Surface's Echoes" begins on a high note with some interesting clinking bass sounds, but quickly devolves into forgettable melodic death metal riffs. The band pull together some brutal and complex riffing on songs such as "In Adversity" or "Algorythm," but these moments are too few and far between the mindless noodling found elsewhere.
Had Beyond Creation chopped the length of songs like "The Inversion" or "Binomial Structures," they could have been standout tracks, yet the band choose to focus too much on the non-metal moments of their sound and drag out the runtime. It's not a new thing for tech death bands to include strings, horns or jazzy guitar work, but the band indulge these moments a bit too much, diluting their success.
Although there are some standout moments on Algorythm, the album as a whole doesn't do enough to command attention. The record is alright at best, but placed alongside other leaders within the genre, it is easily buried underneath albums from bands who put quality songwriting before showing off their skills on their instruments.
(Season of Mist)The band bring more progressive elements into their sound than other tech-death acts, which can be an advantage for some, but here it leads to songs overstaying their welcome. "Surface's Echoes" begins on a high note with some interesting clinking bass sounds, but quickly devolves into forgettable melodic death metal riffs. The band pull together some brutal and complex riffing on songs such as "In Adversity" or "Algorythm," but these moments are too few and far between the mindless noodling found elsewhere.
Had Beyond Creation chopped the length of songs like "The Inversion" or "Binomial Structures," they could have been standout tracks, yet the band choose to focus too much on the non-metal moments of their sound and drag out the runtime. It's not a new thing for tech death bands to include strings, horns or jazzy guitar work, but the band indulge these moments a bit too much, diluting their success.
Although there are some standout moments on Algorythm, the album as a whole doesn't do enough to command attention. The record is alright at best, but placed alongside other leaders within the genre, it is easily buried underneath albums from bands who put quality songwriting before showing off their skills on their instruments.
