Absurd²

This very short-lived outfit appeared as a side vehicle for the Extol guys who wanted to use it in order to give more freedom to their thrash-prone urges as opposed to their more prominently death metal-peppered style at the time. However, by the time this demo saw the light of day the main act had also moved towards the thrash metal canons with “Synergy”, and this 3-tracker can be viewed a really nice companion to it.

The delivery here is even more appealing and more elaborate than the one on “Synergy”, lacking the more melodic embellishments from it that were already pointing at a different, mellower direction. “Point of Insanity” is a mesmerizing maze of technically dazzling riff configurations in the spirit of Chemical Breath and Coroner, frequently shifting tempos, a couple of straight-forward headbanging sections, and intense shouty, somewhat hysterical, vocals; another plus is the beautiful bass-driven fusion-esque pirouette. “In Hypnosis” is a more dramatic shredder with more urgent staccato riffage and a lengthy stomping mid-break which later spreads all the way to the end; and “Wisdom” is the final piece of technical “wisdom” introduced by a nice brief bass burp before supreme intricate riff-formulas start jumping over each other in a fascinating, also disorienting effect the guys making sure to preserve the mosh with a portion of speedy passages the latter frequently intercepted by spiral-like arrangements those not far from the mathematical complexity of Deathrow’s “Deception Ignored” and Coroner’s “Mental Vortex”; a setback of some sorts could be considered the sprawling exiting balladic etude which benefits from the appropriately used vociferous bass.

A really nice momentary showing which never turned into anything too substantial as the guys carried on with the Extol saga with the disappointing “The Blueprint Dives”. They were also running another project simultaneously with those two, the gothic metal formation The Crest, who survived long enough to put two full-lengths in their discography. A hard-working batch for sure; one that silenced all the critics flocking in their backyard with this short burst of musical illumination.