Noneuclid

Metatheosis

BY Natalie Zina WalschotsPublished May 5, 2014

8
Thrash metal, as a genre, has a reputation for privileging intensity over complexity. When critics discuss the thrash revival, it's often in reference to bands with simple, classic aggression and delightfully cheesy, often horror-inspired lyrics. Noneuclid, who are based in Nadshut, Germany and feature members of Triptykon, Thulcandra, Obscura and Dark Fortress (including Dark Fortress guitarist Morean, who also handles vocal duties), takes thrash in a completely different direction, using the genre as a kind of musical armature, a base for experimentation and growth.

The result is a record with recognizable thrash lineage in the riff structures and some textures, but taken and expanded, interwoven with a variety of influences. Experimental and unapologetically cerebral, Metatheosis includes elements of doom, technical death (especially in "Cult of One" and "Buried Forever"), progressive ("Across the Mist of Broken Glass" has a distinctly Cynic-like quality to it) and even some harsh, blackened tones. Album highlights include the three-part experimental sequence "Into The Light" and the massive musical slab that is "The Black Plague of the Soul," but every track has depth and sophistication.

While Metatheosis would be merely an interesting intellectual exercise if handled more poorly, the record, executed by four exceptional musicians with exquisite precision and genuine emotion, remains both accessible and wildly original.
(Blood Music)

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