The Thin Line Between

Prior to this, I would have counted Truth Beyond... as my favorite album from these Canadians. Trilateral Progression was a good effort and a new, cleaner direction, but The Thin Line Between takes that and truly capitalizes on the style. Groovy, mathematical death metal with a lot of punch and quality riffing.

Few death metal albums can pull off a mix this high quality, a great balance of tones with only one flaw (the bass seems low if you aren't listening closely). But the guitars sound amazing here, as they throttle you with the unique riffing of opener "Darkness Prevails" or the dynamic grooving chug of "Wicked". "Versus" has a unique, almost jazzy intro. But what all the songs have in common is this central, technical mid paced groove. It's almost a unifier, as if this were all one song (even though the groove differs across its tracks). There are a few acoustic bits, such as the nice lulling instrumental "Standing Despite" or the intro to "The All and the Nothing".

This is a pretty catchy album, loaded with excellent guitar work and just enough memorable melody without calling it 'melodic death'. Progressive death metal fans will truly enjoy it, especially fans of Death, Cynic, Obliveon and the like. A killer release for Neuraxis and in my opinion their strongest yet.

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My first introduction to the band was actually this album. The latest effort by Neuraxis is surely a great one; technicality is the spotlight for these Canadian musicians. What Neuraxis brings from their previous efforts is the ability to mix technicality while being melodic and chaotic. There sure are a large amount of bands that focus on one or the other, but not many have the tenacity to nail a sound that is unlike any other. The Thin Line Between would be a great introduction for someone who is currently in the process of learning the art of Death Metal. This is because of the bands ability to mix standard Death Metal playing, being chaotic, and also being melodic.

The album really is energetic and catchy. Not much Death Metal is actually catchy and good at the same time, but with the melodic side of the music it allows for slower parts where the guitar riffs stick out above other parts of the music; also the same can be said about the vocals. The album allows the listeners to rest their ears from time to time with the slowed down more melodic tracks, but as each track progresses it seems to get faster with blasting and chaotic chord progressions being played. One goal that seems to be apparent in a lot of Technical Death Metal is the musicians really like to show off their skills while making it memorable, also known as catchy.

Trying to draw comparisons from other bands to Neuraxis is nearly impossible; the only one I can really find is that Alex Leblanc sounds similar to Frank Mullen of Suffocation. Neuraxis really have made their own sound. I guess Canadian bands like to do this because other bands that have done such are Kataklysm, 3 Inches of Blood, Strapping Young Lad, and Cryptopsy (haha - not the latest album). All of these bands pioneered their own sound that either has not been replicated yet or no one has come even close to matching the sound.

What is different about this album from their previous efforts? One thing is that the previous albums seem to be a little bit more on the brutal side. The emphasis was not completely on technicality and remembrance. The songs back then seemed to have a little less structure than they do now as well. The skill level has increased; the type of playing has also changed. I have heard people complain at how this isn't the same Neuraxis they used to know and love, but since this was my introduction to the band I have no problem with the sound, obviously. I was just ranting and raving at how they have their own sound, but before this album they sounded a lot more like one of your normal everyday Death Metal bands that did focus on some technicality and being melodic but the jump in styles is a lot. Like I already said I cannot compare them to another band at this point in time with the style they are playing. Everything just seems to flow well and the band does not fit into a cliché that other technical or melodic Death Metal bands do. They allowed themselves to flow into a new style that I think will stick with the band until they decide to call it quits.

Overall the album still shows little room for improvement because of the creation of their own sound and the impressive show of craftsmanship, the only thing that is left to be desired is more music. The Thin Line Between is just under 50 minutes of music but seems to fly by because the album is memorable and there is not any filler to make it drag on. The perfect balance of intensity and being melodic brings this album, to a point where it is hard to top. With a band at the top of their game writing good songs and not just recording chaotic music that does have its appeal, they are combining those elements and they structure great songs. This album is well worth a listen by any Death Metal fan.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

In music as in life there is change. Sometimes change can be for the worst, while other times change can be for the better. In this case, Neuraxis' "The Thin Line Between" is definitley the later of the two. Obviously there are those would disagree, but this is just like when Chris Barnes left Cannibal Corpse and was repalced by George Fisher. Some in the death metal community embraced it while others dismissed it. It really is just a matter of perception.

WIth the addition of a new vocalist adds a much welcomed elment of change. Now, I'll admit that Alex Leblanc vocals don't seem to be nearly as varied as Ian Campbell's were however, Leblanc's vocals are still agressive and fit the riffs just as well as Ian's vocals would.

The rest of the album sounds like well, Neuraxis. As on their previous efforts there is a nice mix of technical and progressive riffs copuled with artificial harmonics that Neuraxis is known for. The drumming is not the fastest in death metal by any means. It does provide the listner with technical mid-tempo drumming that helps to develop a complete picture of very well organized songs.

Neuraxis also have some guest appearances on their albums and on "The Thin Line Between" there is no exception and I feel that this is their greatest session vocalist yet. On the album's title track both Alex Leblanc and session vocalist Luc Lemmy (Gorguts/ Negativa) unleash an assault of back and forth vocals that compliment each other and the song beautifly.

Please keep in mind that this isn't Alex Leblanc's first picnic. As I'm sure you know he is the vocalist in the death metal band Atheretic. With this piror experience he was the ideal person to fill shoes of Ian Campbell and lead Neuraxis into a newer mature sound. To those who first dismissed this album I suggest that you give it another listen with an open mind and embrace the change beacuse "The Thin Line Between" is one instnence where change doesn't hurt.

Canada has long been known for churning out quality extreme music acts and the Montreal based Neuraxis is no exception. Ever since their debut record (Imagery) they have been lauded as a prime example of combining technical songwriting with hefty amounts of groove. These talents culminated in what is one of my personal favorite metal albums, Truth Beyond. Fast forward to 2008 and after the addition of new guitarist Will Seghers of Quo Vadis and most notably ex-Atheretic vocalist Alex Leblanc, we find Neuraxis still steamrolling through most modern death metal with more or less the same formula that gained them respect in the past.

Things start off with “Darkness Prevails”, a frenetic track that doesn’t quite have its own identity in the context of the album. Contrary to the rest of the disc’s tracks, “Darkness Prevails” is too start/stop to build any momentum. The next song, “Wicked”, is one of the best songs on the album. Guitarists Rob Milley and Will Seghers play one of the catchiest and heaviest riffs of the year at 0:44. The odd chord shapes give it a black metal feel, which is appropriate because early Neuraxis was heavily influenced by death metal’s more evil cousin.

The title track “The Thin Line Between” also warrants a mention due to the inclusion of the esteemed Luc Lemay as a guest vocalist. Lemay is the master songwriter and vocalist of Canada’s legendary Gorguts and his trademark rasp adds new flavor to the admittedly repetitive vocals on The Thin Line Between. However the monotone low level growl of Leblanc isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For one, it adds ferocious power to the already bone crunching riffs (see “Oracle” if you want to go to the hospital afterwards). Leblanc’s consistency also allows his vocals to serve a dual purpose, as both a means of conveying the lyrics and as a rhythm instrument in itself.

The weakest aspect of The Thin Line Beween is the drumming. While Tommy McKinnon is brilliant in his other projects (Humanoid immediately comes to mind), he doesn’t touch the brilliance of Neuraxis’ past works. I compare his playing on The Thin Line Between to Darren Cesca’s work in Arsis because his constant blasting interrupts the flow of what otherwise could be some very groove heavy passages. This isn’t to say that the drumming isn’t a phenomenal display of talent, however. Many of the backbeats are very tastefully played and show a lot of creativity, especially on the outro of “Phoenix”.

When put in perspective with Neuraxis’ past work, The Thin Line Between is inferior in every respect. However, since I consider 3 of their 4 previous album to be either a perfect 10 or just short, this is no insult. The Thin Line Between is a lesson in technical, catchy death metal played right. Many modern bands could learn a thing or ten from the superior songwriting and musicianship displayed on this album. The Canadian metal scene is a thing of wonder and Neuraxis is one of the brightest stars rising out of the Great White North.

I was trying for a little while to come up with a good description of “The Thin Line Between”, and the description was actually told to me in a plain fashion without any metaphorical comparisons - the merging of death metal with some thrash riffs and progressive and a bit of melody in the guitars. Throw in a little bit of dissonant experimentation and the barking vocals from Alex, who’s voice is similar to some Polish death metal bands, perhaps that of a more dimensional Sauron (the first vocalist from Decapitated) and that wraps up what you’ve got with Neuraxis.

While some of you kids might associate the blast beat with death metal, “The Thin Line Between” is fairly light on those, requiring drummer Tommy to come up with some more creative beats to fit specifically under all the odd time signature shifts. Due to the sometimes progressive nature of the album, there’s also a lot of choppy moments and tempo changes.

Of the bands from Montreal, and death metal over all, Neuraxis represents something a little different, yet fresh and modern by providing a melding of slight nuances to stay ahead of the pack.

Originally posted at www.waytooloud.com