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| Artist..: Alkaloid |
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| Album...: Numen |
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| Genre...: Death Metal | Label...: Season of Mist |
| Year....: 2023 | Cat.No..: |
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| R.date..: 2023-09-15 | S.date..: 2023-09-15 |
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| Source..: WEB (24bit) | Encoder.: libFLAC |
| Bitrate.: 3041kbps avg. | F.Rate..: 96.0kHz |
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| http://open.qobuz.com/album/fk3kvrn16jywb |
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| Disc 1 / 1 |
| -------- |
| |
| 01. Qliphosis 7:48 |
| 02. The Cambrian Explosion 3:59 |
| 03. Clusterfuck 5:29 |
| 04. Shades of Shub-Niggurath 6:12 |
| 05. A Fool's Desire 8:10 |
| 06. The Fungi from Yuggoth 6:07 |
| 07. The Black Siren 1:39 |
| 08. Numen 7:03 |
| 09. Recursion 3:29 |
| 10. The Folding 6:54 |
| 11. Alpha Aur 13:23 |
| |
| |
| --------------------- |
| (1609.4MB) 01:10:13 |
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| German collective Alkaloid bucks the trend often associated with bands |
| fitted with the æsupergroupÆ tag. With a line-up boasting members of such |
| lauded acts as Spawn of Possession, Obscura, Necrophagist, EternityÆs End, |
| Dark Fortress, and many others, on 2015Æs striking debut The Malkuth |
| Grimoire, and 2018Æs phenomenal sophomore opus Liquid Anatomy, Alkaloid |
| ascended to elite status in the modern progressive and technical death |
| metal scenes. Alkaloid established a unique sound from the outset, their |
| cosmic, science fiction-infused technical and progressive death formula |
| featuring a futuristic, otherworldly vibe and melodic, experimental flair. |
| Liquid Anatomy set the bar unreasonably high, so third album Numen arrives |
| with lofty expectations. Taking the characteristics, stunning |
| musicianship, and songwriting elements from the first two LPs and |
| contorting and expanding in typically diverse, ambitious ways, can the |
| 70-minute Numen match the formidable strengths of its predecessors? |
| |
| Within their colorful and distinctive sound, Alkaloid continue exploring |
| exciting new ways to shift and pirouette through rich progressive |
| pastures, intricate arrangements, and technical firestorms. Quirkier |
| melodies, oddball songwriting twists, and penetrating hooks feature, |
| resulting in another weird, proggy, and unpredictable trip. ôQliphosisö |
| opens proceedings and feels like reuniting with an old friend. The formula |
| is recognizable, but the writing puts a fresh spin on the familiar. ItÆs |
| particularly impressive how Alkaloid maintain cohesion and hurl |
| asteroid-sized hooks, while retaining their wildly experimental, proggy |
| edge. Amidst those strange melodic tendrils and progressive |
| idiosyncrasies, Alkaloid bring the thunder, ensuring their burly death |
| metal and monstrous grooves remain at the core. Should be opener ôThe |
| Cambrian Explosionö detonates explosively, fueled by thrashy tech death, |
| channeling Necrophagist and peak Obscura, with guest female vocals |
| unexpectedly arising during an inspired mid-section. |
| |
| ôClusterfuckö is an instant winner, anchored by an earworm chorus, the |
| songÆs blockbuster mix of beefy riffs, colossal groove, and nifty shred |
| ties together beautifully. Their mid-era Morbid Angel influences surface |
| on the riffy crush of ôThe Fungi From Yugguth,ö a song also blessed with |
| stunning lead work. Musically Alkaloid is a phenomenal force and despite |
| losing guitarist Danny Tunker, they donÆt miss a beat, the three-axe |
| set-up trimmed to a more traditional two-axe attack. Christian Mⁿnzner and |
| Morean share the load, combining tech death wizardry with chunky riffage |
| and progressive flair, keeping the listener on their toes. Speaking of |
| Morean, his vocal performance is worthy of high praise. A deceptively |
| talented and versatile vocalist, MoreanÆs skills are on full display. |
| Whether utilizing the subtly shifting tones of his powerful death growls, |
| or unleashing his signature gruff melodic croons, he is often responsible |
| for the albumÆs numerous melodic hooks, forming a unique, dynamic |
| attribute to the Alkaloid sound. Hannes GrossmannÆs work behind the kit is |
| as spectacularly awesome as you would expect. |
| |
| he first hefty chunk of the album represents a mercury-speckled gold |
| standard of quality. In particular, the first six songs are uniformly |
| excellent; addictive, unpredictable, and gripping. Things start to get a |
| little wonky as the album progresses past the mid-section. ôNumenö is a |
| strange tune with cool moments, held back by a meandering, clunky |
| structure, while dragging past its welcome. The blipping, atmospherics, |
| and almost death-doom beginning of ôThe Foldingö finds Alkaloid at their |
| most guttural and heaving. Unfortunately, an artistic choice to infiltrate |
| the nearly seven-minute song with roughly half its time devolving into |
| drawn-out, experimental atmospherics, unsettles and kills momentum at |
| once. Emotive thirteen-minute closer ôAlpha Aurö could also use trimming, |
| especially with its extended introduction. However, itÆs an ambitious |
| marvel, which oozes class and overflows with creative ideas and slick |
| execution. It fluidly cruises from one progressive movement to the next, |
| injecting shades of Opethian melody, soaring melodic hooks, grooving death |
| surges, and extravagant shredding. |
| |
| Alkaloid are too damn good at what they do to let some later album kinks |
| derail another tremendous album. However, the nagging issues and bloated |
| runtime diminishes the final package. A large portion of Numen pushes all |
| the right buttons, but as a cohesive, consistent album it cannot match the |
| end-to-end brilliance of Liquid Anatomy. The considerable bloat and |
| backend flaws seriously hamper flow. A combined roughly ten minutes of |
| time shaved off a couple of the weaker cuts and closer would have |
| tightened an otherwise exemplary album. When itÆs on, Numen is |
| unstoppable. Mileage will vary, but Numen is still a must-listen, despite |
| my personal grievances. |
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