Knot of Centipedes

Target’s Knot of Centipedes is an album that sounds complex, modern, direct and quite fresh by today’s metal standards, the band’s obvious influences can be found on acts like Decapitated and Meshuggah, but even then it’s not like Target’s music is yet another clone of the aforementioned names. Nope, there’s personality here, there’s a vision of “how to do things” when it comes to music, like if the bands I just mentioned were blended together and filtered through the minds of these Chileans deathters, to breed this groundbreaking slab of crushing multilayered death metal. Knot of Centipedes simply must be heard to be understood.

The album starts with the always skipable intro as it adds some atmosphere yet it’s not really relevant, then Oxymoron begins and we are finally in business. The first seconds of the song are almost like if the band’s warming up for what’s coming, sudden stop and then we get what'll be the trademark for the entire album, being disharmonious chords mixed with some oddly-tempoed drums plus caustic vocal work. Everything here screams technicality, but there is no real showing-off by any member as the band works as a unit and clearly the music reflects it. No fancy guitar solos nor impossible drum rolls, just in your face death metal with lots of hooks, groove, and blast beats all around. Simple in its complexity, Knot of Centipedes doesn’t lose the spark while advancing relentlessly through its 9 tracks. There are quite a few memorable passages throughout the album, like the breaks in Oxymoron and The Red-Eyed Motion, the final “falling apart” of Crossfade, and the transition between Preserved Details and the furious Between, all clear examples of a band with lots of interesting ideas and real skill when it comes to composition.

The production is ok, being recorded in the band’s homeland. It’s a surprise to hear such a good output coming from a place outside Europe or North America. Some more definition to the overall sound would have been nice, yet the job gets done anyway. The artwork looks great as well with some nice colors and graphics, complementing the title of the album nicely and making obvious the fact that the band put some effort in the packaging, making the final product a good buy, no questions ask.

To finish this review, Target’s Centipede has some obvious influences that can be perceived throughout the entire album, yet it’s still difficult to describe properly. You won’t get it until you listen to it. Death metal is evolving and Chile has something to say about it. Target is the proof of it.