Artificial Brain – Artificial Brain
Release Date: 3rd June 2022
Label: Profound Lore Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Dissonant Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal, Death Metal.
FFO: Ulcerate, Dischordia, Haunter, Nightmarer, Voidthrone, and Teeth.
Review By: Eric Wilt
Artificial Brain’s eponymous third full length is bittersweet for many longtime fans. As you’re probably aware by now, Artificial Brain will be vocalist Will Smith’s last album with the band. As such, it is fitting that he go out on such a total ripper of an album. Rounded out with guitarists Dan Gargiulo and Oleg Zalman, guitarist and saxophonist Jon Locastro, bassist Samuel Smith, and drummer Keith Abrami, Artificial Brain have put together 10 crushing tracks of dissonant death metal that are amazing on first listen and even more rewarding on subsequent listens, as new layers are revealed with each new play.
With Artificial Brain, you know you are going to get mind-expanding riffs tremolo picked at breakneck pace, bass lines that perfectly complement the guitars, and drums that blast from passage to passage with mad abandon. Vocally, Smith’s gutturals are extremely low and create an interesting counterpoint to the music, which is played in the higher registers more often than not. In songs like Celestial Cyst, Tome of the Exiled Engineer, and Insects and Androids, Artificial Brain even uses what I believe is synth to create an otherworldly atmosphere that complements the lyrics, which are science fiction in nature. The one complaint I have with the album is the fact that the vocals are rather low in the mix, but it is a small issue that doesn’t take away from the overall pleasure of the listening experience.
In a year where dissonant death metal is seeing a number of strong releases, such as Triptych by Dischordia, Kur by Voidthrone, and Disincarnate Ails by Haunter, Artificial Brain still finds a way to stand out from the crowd.
(5 / 5)
