Apogean – Cyberstrictive
Release Date: 8th March 2024
Label: The Artisan Era
Bandcamp
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal.
FFO: Archspire, The Zenith Passage, Equipoise.
Review By: Eric Wilt
Apogean broke in 2021 with an enjoyable, if predictable, slab of tech-death called Into Madness. Consisting of five songs, Into Madness didn’t push any boundaries or break any new ground, but it showed that Apogean were well on their way to becoming a formidable presence in the world of tech-death. Now it’s 2024, and Apogean have returned with Cyberstrictive, one of the strongest tech-death albums that will be released this year. Not to mention it features one of the most beautiful cover paintings I have seen in some time courtesy of Mark Erskine.
Two things stuck out to me when I first gave Cyberstrictive a listen. First, the vocals are more powerful and varied than on the EP. It turns out there’s a good reason for this. Mac Smith who has performed with Alterbreast, Krosis, and Decrepit Birth, just to name a few of his other/former bands, is the new man behind the mic, and while I enjoyed Matthew Krawchuk’s vocal contribution on Into Madness, Mac Smith has elevated Apogean to a whole new level. The second thing that stuck out to me is Apogean has broadened their sound to include black metal, which gives them an even wider palette with which to paint their musical compositions.
In addition to Smith, Apogean consists of longtime members Dexter Forbes and Gabriel Silva Castro on guitar, Jacob Wagner on drums, and Robert Tam on bass. All four instrumentalists have been with Apogean since before Into Madness, and you can tell that they’ve grown as composers as well as musicians.
Bluelight Sonata kicks the album off with a good example of what Apogean is bringing to the table this time around. The song opens with a black metal riff and then transitions to sweeping notes so precisely played they’d give Yngwie a woody. This leads to the heavy grooving in the verses that are capped off with some tremolo picking and a pensive instrumental section on the back end. All the while, Smith is varying his vocal delivery from section to section, hitting everything from low growls to gurgles to shrieks.
The rest of the album is equally grounded tech-death, but Apogean keeps things fresh by bringing in characteristics of other styles throughout. For instance, Thousand-Yard Glare features some bass drops and a breakdown that would fit nicely in a deathcore song. Distance (Of Walls and Wails) begins with a dissonant section and only gets math-ier from there. Imposter Reborn begins with a black metal section and then features an interlude that sounds like it is being played on a toy piano. Within the Bounds of a Simile even features a section that, while I won’t go as far as to call in djent, would feel right at home on a Mushuggah album. Polubius has a dream-quality to it thanks to the effects used on the guitars during certain portions of the song. This track sounds like a nod to The Zenith Passage to me, but not in a way that feels derivative.
Apogean’s music has come a long way since 2021, and with Cyberstrictive they have released one of the most enjoyable tech-death albums I have listened to in a long time. If you enjoy the genre, be sure to pick up Apogean’s latest offering. It’s as good as anything going right now.
(4.5 / 5)
