All Things Are Equal in Death

Subconscious belong to the ever-expanding legion of devout Death followers, and although they started their dedication to the late Chuck Schuldiner’s legacy relatively late, they caught up quickly with the rest of the pilgrims with a string of classy, intricately woven efforts. Relatively late since their first two full-lengths from the early/mid-90’s had nothing to do with the Death style presenting a light unpretentious form of thrash/crossover. A lengthy hiatus followed during which the guys had thought seriously over their musical predilections, the result from their prolonged musings being “Irregular” (2006), a most irregular comeback having in mind their early repertoire. Their second coming sees them staying as close to later-period Death as possible with few deviations from the chosen pattern if we exclude the more or less prominent thrashy breaks which presence is still sufficient to label this effort as a thrash/death metal hybrid.

The album reviewed here isn’t a drastic departure from its predecessor so one should expect the infatuation with the US master(s) to continue on full-throttle, or thereabouts; and continue it does with “Substitute”, a smashing speedster which overflows with brilliant melodies provided at every opportunity, especially on the dramatic mid-break. “Impervious View” is a choppier more technical composition with more active participation of the bass and a more frequently changing pace the middle again preserved for something special, in this case a brilliant stroke of mazey technicality. “All Edged Authority” serves a quiet beginning with the bass thundering authoritatively in the background, and later on it carries on as a jumpy modern-ish pounder ala Coroner’s “Grin”. “Antagonism Draw” unleashes a spastic technical passage, but the melodic leads neutralize it only for the same intricate motif to re-appear and make this cut a most stylish unnerving stomper despite the more linear dramatic build-ups in the second half.

“Obedience” is a sharp curt technicaller spitting out fiery elaborate rhythms at will, excelling later with brilliant technical rifforamas and sudden fast-paced sweeps. “Navigation Obtain” is a consummate mixture of spacey progressivisms and hard-hitting technicality, a marvellous symbiosis enhanced with a superb more dynamic section ala Coroner’s “Semtex Revolution” from “Mental Vortex” towards the end. “The Serpent Incident” speeds up admirably with steel complex riffage duelling with beautiful melodic ornaments, the mid-break constituting hectic jarring digressions the latter another nod to the aforementioned Swiss maestros. “Moral Consraint” flirts with more volatile jazzy structures, but the enchanting melodic hooks take over only for even more accentuated funky jazzisms to interfere later turning this number into the most diverse one here. “State of Neglect” wraps it on with a jumpier rhythm-section for a start before a more vivid cumulative passage ala “The Philosopher” (from “Individual Thought Patterns”) enters the scene followed by weird abstract additives of the minimalistic creepy variety.

The shadow of Death is not looming so heavily over this opus, albeit it’s very much there, the band trying to break away from their main influence by incorporating more flexible thrash-fixated arrangements those vulnerable to more varied technical experiments hence the several nods to the Coroners. If “Irregular” was coming dangerously close at times to mere imitation, this opus here expands on the Death base and moves towards more individual thought… sorry, ways of expression. Their third coming, “Veil” (2015), acquired an even more characteristic sound shifting further away from said base and also from death metal in general. However, this transitional work here seems to be the band’s finest achievement; it’s a most shining example of how lessons learnt from the old masters can be interpreted and even elaborated additionally without losing their initial lustre, and without being regurgitated in a derivative, conveyor-like fashion.

Of all the works produced by the voluminous Death worshipping fraternity, the album reviewed here seems to be the finest one, edging out the other behemoth in the trend, Sceptic’s “Internal Complexity” (2005) by a few notches. It also had some strong contenders on German ground, too, in the face of The Unchallenged’s “Sceneries” (2001) and Stigmatized’s “Becoming Unique” (2008). If you want to listen to nothing else but the good old Death repertoire without any annoying detractions then “Irregular” should be a no-brainer for you. If you want to experience how Mr. Schuldiner’s legacy can be treated with the same amount of respect, but also with a desirable breeze of imagination and creativity, there can be no righter choice than the Deathland where “all things are equal”.