Soreption
Engineering the Void

Swedish band Soreption plays technical death metal with the syncopated, razor-sharp riffs of Decapitated with the machine-like djent-chugging of Aeon. Their first release on Unique Leader, Engineering the Void is their follow-up to their 2010 release Deterioration of Minds, which I only became aware of last year.

Although heavily technical, Soreption fuses their convoluted riffs onto robust grooves. The colossal “The Nature of Blight” alternates between divisions of the beat but doesn’t deviate from the basic groove. There are plenty of on-a-dime time-signature changes and unexpected surprises; “Breaking the Great Narcissist” goes through at least four mind-bending changes in the first two minutes, and dissolves very suddenly into a synth heavy break at the three-and-a-half mark. But Soreption are at their best when they let the groove drive through one riff right into the next, as in “Utopia” and “I Am You.”

There are a handful of cheesy, synthesized faux-orchestral breaks, as in “Breaking the Great Narcissist” and others, that detract from the momentum of the songs. On Deterioration of Minds’ “March of the Tyrants,” the synths morphed into a kind of updated “Suffer in Truth” chug, but here they don’t interact with the rest of the material in quite the same way. Even on Deterioration of Minds they seemed out of place. Soreption would be better off ditching it altogether and letting their technical blitzkrieg speak for itself.

That minor complaint aside, this is a tasty slab of the best kind of technical death metal. And at 35 minutes, it’s enough to give you the full effect but not leave you overwhelmed. This would probably be a killer act to see live too, if and when they come stateside.

[Visit the band's website]
Written by J. D. Anderson
February 18th, 2014

Comments

  1. Commented by: Luke_22

    Haven’t fully absorbed this one yet, but it sounds killer, definitely a strong Decapitated vibe going on. Along with the new Artificial Brain 2014 has started well on the tech death front.


  2. Commented by: E. Thomas

    This is a sick album. the little dimmu borgir-y parts are cool. would like to have heard more within the songs.


  3. Commented by: Staylow

    I’m checking out some songs on youtube now – this is indeed killer. Definitely hear the Decapitated vibe. I wouldn’t be shocked if this ends up on my year end list.


  4. Commented by: Juan Manuel Pinto

    Hey JD, when you talk about “the machine-like djent-chugging of Aeon” are you talking about the swedish, “Bleeding The False” Aeon?


  5. Commented by: j.d.

    Juan: Yes I am, and specifically that album too


  6. Commented by: Juan Manuel Pinto

    Thanks J.D.
    I never thought of Aeon as djent, always thought of them as stright Death Metal. I am going to listen to them again to find out if I hear any “djent”


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