A Path to Extinction

This outfit was a very pleasant surprise; I got it from a guy I knew on the Soulseek p2p software about 10 years ago who recommended it to me knowing my predilections for the more technical side of the metal spectre. These four cuts here hooked me instantly as the only annoyance were the very unsuitable guttural death metal vocals which don’t even try to at least fit a little into this grand technical speed/thrashfest.

The overall approach is uncannily reminiscent of the one on Helstar’s immortal “Nosferatu”; in fact, if you replace the highly inappropriate deathy throat with James Rivera, you will swear this is a forgotten, buried chapter from the late-80’s Helstar repertoire. The moment the steel galloping riffs of “Absent from Entity” reach the listener’s ears, he/she will instantly recall the lofty exploits of the Barragan/Corbin duo on said Dracula saga the guys here, pure beaming talents by the way, also adhering to frequent dashes from classical music lore whenever an opportunity for that arises. And those come aplenty, mind you, with “Animal, Man... Machine” thrashing harder by also offering more perplexing riff-configurations the latter letting a few more isolated gallops again sneak into the elaborate canvas. Things take more serious, progressive dimensions on “Sea to Summit” with the lead guitarist very busy from the get-go to provide stunning virtuoso pirouettes on this exemplary multifaceted speed/thrasher the delivery also becoming wonderfully lyrical at some stage with echoes of “The Curse Has Passed Away” from “Nosferatu” for the umpteenth time. Prepare for nearly 8-min of immaculate intricate thrashing on “Edifice of Tyranny”, an encompassing progressive saga with myriad nuances embedded into the amorphous soundscape which would make every Shrapnel practitioner envious with the incessant supply of exquisite guitar acrobatics from both the riff and the lead department.

Largely a showpiece for the guitarists’ dexterity, this short effort stands proud right next to Psycroptic’s “The Sceptre of the Ancients” and Khariot’s “Disymposium” as one of the three finest exhibitions of technical wizardry from Down Under in the new millennium. This is perhaps the place to also mention a not very known one-album-wonder from the distant past, Bezerker’s “Lost” (1989), a progressive thrash behemoth that also held its fascination with the heritage of the mentioned US legends, only executed in a less exuberant, more patiently-woven manner. In other words, the Dred phenomenon wasn’t an isolated occurrence in Aussieland, seeds for this greatness had been planted earlier, the resultant fruit probably even surpassing the expectations on the most inspired moments.

The band regrouped under the Ouroboros moniker two years later, only without the axeman
Denis Vlachiotis who left to embark on a solo career (an EP released in 2007), and the first showing “Glorification of a Myth” was a logical continuation of the EP here with three of the cuts also featured on it. However, the sophomore was a fair disappointment the band concentrating on a not very striking atmospheric brand of death metal with the steel technical precision and the classical virtuosity of past feats completely gone, replaced by dubious Oriental melodicisms among other not as striking gimmicks. A path to extinction I smell here… kidding, of course; anyone can be tempted by devious serpentine musical frivolities. And we all know only too well that Judge Dred can only slacken this once.

Ouroboros (who were known as DRED until recently) are a technical death metal band who hail from Australia. Their first EP, A Path To Extinction, is an amazing piece of work. The first thing that hits the listener is the clear but ultra-heavy production. The bass isn’t completely audible but does add to the heaviness of the record. Another small gripe I have with the production is that some solos aren’t as high in the mix as you would expect but apart from this, the production is great.


The song-writing and musicianship of the band is second-to-none and each member stands out brilliantly. Being quite new to death metal, it’s taken time to get used to the new vocals, but I don’t have that problem here as Evgeny Linnik delivers earth shaking growls that are still somehow catchy and incredibly likeable. The guitar team that is Mikhail Okrugin and Denis Vlachiotis deliver thrashy yet technical riffs that are complemented perfectly by David Horgan’s frenetic drumming. From what you can hear, Chris Conti’s bass keeps up with the pace set by the rest of the band.


The songs themselves are great and unlike many new bands, they show that better song-writing is more important than technicality. No song is less than four-and-a-half-minutes meaning that simple thrashing is definitely not the case here. The solos are monumental and have quite a classical touch to them, similar to Randy Rhoads. The best song is ‘Animal, Man... Machine’ which has best riffs of the EP, but it’s hard to decide as all the songs are great.


The bottom line is that Ouroboros are one of the best new bands out there and deserve massive attention from the metal community. If Ouroboros continue to make music of this calibre, especially on their upcoming album, they WILL make it big.


(This review was originally submitted to www.brutalism.com)

Long have I held a nigh-visceral disdain for the so-called "technical metal" bands, rising from their ancillary yet vital position on the epaulettes of the scene to Necrophagist's carefully calculated strides into the hearts of the average churlish metalhead to the cringeworthy mathcore autofellatio of late. My reasons are simple, although my opening statement carries an oft-misconstrued complaint.

I am a firm believer in composition over technicality. There are many metaphors available to explain it, each with a certain validity, though none sufficiently all-encompassing to accurately differentiate between the two as to provide a neat little axiom you can simply fold up and carry in your wallet.

Let's remove the veil shrouding technical metal and examine it for what it really is. Standard heavy metal (with obvious differences according to subgenre) with a particular focus on complexity. Now, as previously stated, I am partial to composition. For me, good composition is the intelligent use of the technique available to you, be it briskly jumping about the fretboard or the tried-and-true powerchord adage that founded modern rock. What good composition is not (and should not be confused for) is the use of technique for the purpose of filling in the gaps with some well-played yet vacuous complexity. This is my major gripe with technical metal; the trading off of the true musical content for virtuosity, technicality for the sake of technicality. While I am not one to brand musicians as soulless for loving their instrument enough to become erudite in their trade, I am one to differentiate between love of the instrument and the ability to use it effectively.

Now that I have set the scene for my review of this EP, I must strongly emphasize the title. It concisely sums up my opinion of this release. After being given the EP after Metalstock '08 by a dark bespectacled fellow at the door, I was initially apprehensive, especially after my friend was given the dishearteningly mediocre Get Damned album by The Agony Scene (and without the Dead Kennedys cover? Still, I'm not so sure not missing that particular cover is such a bad thing...).

Returning to my abode the next morning as deafened chiropractic nightmare, I properly examined the cover art. The mass of rubble at alternating perspectives was certainly an interesting landscape to gaze upon, but not without a certain air of predictability. After sourcing their genre as tech-death, I sighed and popped it in my CD tray and gave it a listen anyhow.

The first thing I noticed was how clean this EP sounded, compared to the low budget releases of yesteryear. While the drums could've been mixed slightly better, they were sufficiently in-your-face at times, yet subtle at others, no doubt due to the ability of the musician in question. The clear production sounded off brilliantly with the other instruments involved, accentuating the beauty of the solos whilst retaining a tone for the riffs that allowed them to function independently when the need arose, yet lock in perfectly with the drum tracks when the song called for it. The vocals were well executed and similarly well recorded, but otherwise unremarkable.

The most surprising part of the music itself was the ability of the guitarists (the most common abusers of their technical ability) to restrain themselves and competently compose an unadulterated rhythm. Not once did I hear the untenably boring extended shred sections that plague technical metal. Though the solos were somewhat drawn-out, I did not feel this particularly detracted from the music. I will, however, note that certain licks were overused. The inclusion of some audible bass licks were refreshing.

Residing in roughly the same area as Dred are based, I certainly hope to be able to see them live at some point, as they would certainly conjure quite a marvelous atmosphere; the assault of the dualistic drum/rhythm guitar pair, the soaring feeling of singy leads, crushing basslines and guttural growls.

While not on the level of Demilich's... ethereal brutality(?) or Pestilence's quirky Schuldinesque jazz/progressive fusion, Dred fail to disappoint with A Path To Extinction. This may be one tech-death album you do want to check out.