Reaping Asmodeia – Darkened Infinity
Release Date: 15th October 2021
Label: Prosthetic Records
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Death Metal, Technical Deathcore.
FFO: Inferi, Rivers of Nihil, Beyond Creation, Buried Side, A Night In The Abyss, Bind the Sacrifice.
Review By: Trina Julian Edwards
Minneapolis, MN tech death trio, Reaping Asmodeia, are back and ready to throw down with their third full-length release, Darkened Infinity. In the four years since their previous release, Impuritize, vocalist Stephen Lane, guitarist Alexander Kelly, and drummer Daniel Koppy have tirelessly toured the US honing their craft. Darkened Infinity is definitive proof that their time was well-spent. The band’s latest effort intertwines strong melodies, cohesive songwriting, and intricate rhythms into a diverse, energetic whole.
Darkened Infinity is a great mix of technical wizardry, ferocious rhythms, and compelling storytelling. The concept is a tragedy-laden tale beginning with the loss of the protagonist’s family and his own life in peril. Particularly intriguing is the protagonist’s transcendental journey through tracks three through five, False Awakening, Lamentations, and Simulacra. The first single from the album, False Awakening, focuses on an out of body experience- as if waking from a dream in one’s sleep. This track has all the crushing brutality you could ask for, in addition to speedy, techy guitarwork and ridiculously complex drumming. This is followed by the gorgeous instrumental interlude, Lamentations, to bridge the gap and tie the pieces together, both thematically and musically. Simulacra then continues the story by detailing the protagonist’s descent into a bizarre new reality of sleeplessness. While Simulacra may seem less tech death and more deathcore, the band has used those downtuned riffs to good effect, giving this track some well-placed weight to underscore the heavy thematic elements.
Dreamcaster is another standout track, beginning with frenetic, techy runs before crashing into the verse. Fans will appreciate the tricky time changes and rhythmic maneuvers the band is known for, but the real star is those spicy lead melodies that even out into a nice little groove to take us home. On Oneironautic Oblivion, the textures of melody and rhythm weave in and out of the vocals seamlessly, but Lane really shows off his range here, with demonic lows, perfect mids and highs, and some very pleasing scream-singing to wrap up the track.
Overall, there is plenty of aggressiveness to please a wide spectrum of metal fans, and on Darkened Infinity, Reaping Asmodeia have taken elements of traditional death metal, technical death metal, and deathcore and melded them into a blend that is both pleasing to the ear as well as difficult to classify. For new fans, the intricacies of the time changes and the rhythmic complexities can be confusing at first, but each aspect of this production feels intentional. This comes as no surprise as the record was produced and engineered by the band themselves prior to being mixed and mastered by Zack Ohren (Machine Head, All Shall Perish, Carnifex) at Castle Ultimate and Sharkbite Studios. With their latest effort, it is clear that Reaping Asmodeia is one of the most promising up and coming groups in the genre. 
(4 / 5)
