Ahthos Arouris

Conspiracy of Zero is a five piece hailing from Greece and after their debut full length “M.I.A.” from 2020 they have now followed up with album number two titled “Ahthos Arouris”. I am not familiar with their first effort so I cannot really talk about any kind of changes or developments, but judged all by its own this seems to be quite an ambitious piece of work. Death metal with progressive leanings is the dish of the day, cooked with a lot of enthusiasm and passion and served with professional attitude. What you get here are 45 minutes of death metal which at times stays true to its roots, but is not afraid to cross the genre’s border and dive into other realms.

The guys have put a lot of emphasis on technical perfection and a nice mixture of straight forward and hammering grooves and more complex arrangements. While most of the trademark riffs should sound familiar to any fan of the genre the two guitarists have implemented some disharmonic and subtly uncommon sounding elements, lending the whole affair an outlandish and slightly abstract atmosphere at times. Often the lead melodies dive into melancholic and darkly twisted spheres and the sometimes chaotic nature makes the listener feel uncomfortable. It feels like a relieve once such unusual chords transform into straight rocking parts again, with these kind of switches highlighting the intensity of the music.

There are a lot of different ingredients used. Classic Gothenburg riffing collides with doomy parts, growls are paired with clean vocals and song structures are taken from both the death metal side of things as well as from progressive sub-genres. It speaks for Conspiracy of Zero that while various influences are thrown into the mix the end product feels stringent and not forced. They have a great feeling for weaving these elements into the single songs and the album as a whole. There is a nice flow to the music with the different sections being used to great effect and a nearly perfect placement of the varying moods. While a few spins might be helpful before the listener can fully appreciate what is going on I would not go as far as calling this purely technical or progressive death metal. In the end this is an example of pretty straight forward metal of the modern area, enhanced by some unique aesthetics.

The drumming is very precise and underlines the heaviness and the complexity of the music without sacrificing the actual songs for technical prowess. There are a few moments where the tempo is slowed down and the drummer is doing a great job by supporting those parts with a nice and more laid-back groove. The guitar parts are astonishing at times, leaving nothing to be desired in that area. Driving chords, staccato rhythms and wonderful melodic elements are used with great expertise. Some ambient and acoustic parts round off the picture.

The production is also spot on. “Ahthos Arouris” comes with a warm yet diversified sound, giving all elements the room needed in the mix. The guitars sound crunchy but clean at the same time, the drums feel organic while the bass is clearly audible as well. Overall Conspiracy of Zero have done an amazing job with great attention to each detail. In case you are interested in an album which brings interesting and fresh ideas, but has its origin in the genre’s classics you would be well advised to give this one a try.