Engram of Decline

Unknown bands trying to get noticed. They're everywhere and not many people care for them but there are always some hidden gems in the underground metal scene. Fractal Universe is my latest discovery fitting that description. Coming from France, these guys take their shot at some progressive, technical death metal, and although they're just getting started, they really have some serious potential. Seeing the artwork, band name and album title, I was quite certain that this was gonna be well into the tech-death side of things and while that's not entirely mistaken, they have surprised me with a lot with much more 'prog' than 'tech'.

"Engram of Decline" is a very complex, technical and sophisticated album, showcasing very impressive musicianship and professionalism. On many occasions it actually feels like a more technical, updated version of Gojira. The guitars riffs are very heavy and mechanical. The drums are beastly, with a lot of fast double pedal work and blast beats striking you quite suddenly at unexpected moments and the bass is really deep and heavy but also fast and fluid now and then. On vocals you get some pretty dirty death growls that also reminded me of Gojira, some whispers and a few sections of harsh screaming that slightly resemble thrash metal vocals. Overall, it's very juicy death metal but it's also very complex. With the progressive time patterns making their way in the music more than frequently and the very precise sound they have, it even seems a bit like djent from time to time (see "Sons of Ignorance"). And there are a lot of clean sections with more subtle drum patterns and very interesting guitars complementing each other. This is also where the bass comes forward a bit more.

In the end, it's a pretty powerful combination of genres and ideas. If I were to chose the key aspects of this album it would certainly be the drums on the fast sections, the guitar leads which really take you by surprise being not only fast but also intricate and unpredictable, and above everything, the really nasty chugs. Those are very dirty and quite satisfying. Check out "Backworldsmen" and "Decline" to see what happens when they hit the low frequencies. I'm quite certain they've been using seven string guitars, if not eight strings because the sounds they make are simply savage!

But as it turns out, really good progressive death metal is not enough. They had to do something weird and different and so, "Backworldsmen" and the ten minute long "Collective Engram" will also hit you with saxophone solos. They've really just thrown that in there. The music style doesn't change a bit, but that sax just pops in. Honestly, I've got some mixed feelings about this one. It's very impressive because even that one is very technical and sounds seriously sick but it feels just so unnatural and disturbing. There's a weirdo in me that really likes it but it doesn't really make feel good and has a bit of "wtf?" effect. In the end though, I like the idea and I wouldn't want it out of the album. If I'm not mistaken, Rivers of Nihil also used saxophone in their music but I haven't listened to them.

Anyway, it's solid work and I highly recommend it but I think there's also room for improvement. They really could use a bit less noise and more melody. It's very difficult to listen to especially when you go for the full stream and there are very few catchy moments. Also, it's a bit lifeless in the mix and can wind up feeling like it's played by a machine. It feels too flat and I just think that seeing that kind of songwriting, the end result could've sounded a lot more massive and energetic. For the mind, it's good. It challenges you as a listener and is more than satisfying intellectually but many times I wind up analyzing it more than actually enjoying it. Fractal Universe did good. I'm really impressed with Engram of Decline and I'm very curious to see how they will evolve but in the future, I think they could focus less on technique and more on... well... music. However, give it a chance. If you're enough of a prog or tech nerd, you just have to like it!