Lunatic

I have been searching for great progressive/technical death metal bands for quite some time. The Faceless sparked my interest in tech-death a few years ago with the album Planetary Duality, which I still consider to be one of the best albums of the genre. But PITN have certainly outdone The Faceless with Lunatic. What isn't there to love here? It's brutal, technical, and has lots of progressive elements too.

The mixing here is absolutely phenomenal, allowing each instrument to be heard clearly. All of the instruments sound good (no, no drummers beating empty paint cans here), and the sound is clear enough to be enjoyable without losing any brutality. What I love the most is how well you can hear the bass, especially since the bassist is amazing. Overall, the album has a very brutal and technical sound, while also being very progressive. Ultra fast playing, with slower parts that have a jazzy feel. There is not a boring moment to be found here, minus the minutes of silence on the last song.

The drummer does an excellent job on this album. He keeps everything tight, while displaying crazy speed and incorporating some unique fills. Surprisingly, there are few blast beats to be found, partly due to his jazzy playing. When he does blast, he keeps it tight and fast, but somehow manages to make the blast sound more brutal than other drummers. If I had to compare him to another drummer, Mario Duplantier from fellow French-based technical/progressive death metal band Gojira is probably the only fair choice. Drummers everywhere will love this.

As for the bass and guitars, a similarly excellent performance is made. The bass is very audible, and it kicks ass. Whether he's following the guitar, or doing his own thing, the bassist keeps things very interesting. Similarly to the drummer, the bassist has a kind of jazzy style. During the slow parts, he really shines through with some great fills. The guitar player makes sure this album doesn't come off as too jazzy by keeping things brutal with super technical riffs. The guitar work here is very interesting, and sometimes sounds a bit on the experimental side, which is super cool. Both strings players bring a lot to the table.

The vocal performance here is perhaps the least interesting, but still enjoyable. There isn't much going on but low growls, but they are executed well and fit the music. The vocalist knows when to growl and when to shut up, unlike some other vocalists out there (yes, I'm talking to you Infant Annihilator). If you want variety in the vocals, you won't be pleased, but I think the vocals fit well and do what they need to bring it together.

Give this album a listen, and you probably won't regret it. If nothing else, you can enjoy some of the most interesting technical/progressive death metal out there. Standout tracks: Lunatic Factory, Strong, Monkey's Masturbation.