Proceed On Your Way To Oblivion – Ceremorphosis
Release Date: 23rd September 2022
Label: Blood Blast Distribution
Pre-Order
Genre: Technical Death Metal
FFO: Deeds of Flesh, The Red Chord, Beneath The Massacre.
Review By: Jason James
Technical Death Metal Supergroup, Proceed On Your Way To Oblivion, prepare to release their debut album, Ceremorphosis.
The name of the band is a line from the 1986 Transformers movie, made by the Decepticon Unicron. The band itself, though, is more like a Power Rangers Megazord, the members of the band harvested from other groups to form an armed colossus. Drummer Michael Ranne (Through The Eyes Of The Dead, My Bitter End, Coma Cluster Void), guitarist Steve Visone (We Are The Romans), Vocalist Shane Jost (Cognitive, Proletariat), bassist Nick Weyers (Aronious) have incorporated guitarist Steven Funderburk (Wretched, TTEOTD) as a full time band member after his guest lead on track 4 of the album, Atrophic Radiance.
Onto Ceremorphosis. When it comes to Tech Death, I’ll admit I’m a certified noob. It’s like someone said, ‘Why don’t we take Death Metal, speed it up to breakneck speed, throw all semblance of routine time signature out of the window, but make it make sense?’ Ceremorphosis is a rush, a blunt instrument of an album that bludgeons the listener into submission. But somehow makes you want more.
This album is a study in exhaustion. What it must take to create each of these 9 precise tracks makes me tired just to think about it. The band members must have put everything into this recording. Where do you even begin when putting tracks like this together? There are so many different riffs, melodies, drum patterns and tempo changes, it’s a wonder any tracks are ever actually finished! I guess that’s what makes this subgenre so intriguing. My personal highlight of the album is track 5, Deal with the Devil, a brutal example of the precision and drive of this group of men.
I don’t know if Ceremorphosis is the best entry point into Technical Death Metal, but I found it enticing enough to maybe get ankle deep in this subgenre pool after dipping my toe in with Proceed On Your Way To Oblivion. I will definitely keep an ear out for these guys in the future.
(3 / 5)
