Perdition of the Sublime

Germany's Sophicide takes a different lyrical approach to technical death metal than most of their conventional associates. Rather than telling tales of gore and strictly anti-religious themes, Sophicide penned a variety of odes to human ignorance and stupidity often miring in society throughout the eleven-track slab of mathematical madness that is "Perdition of the Sublime." Sophicide's approach acts as a counterpoint to the sub-genre's dire dependency on incoherent instrumental masturbation frequently deemed acceptable for technical death metal; the album manages to be insanely sophisticated throughout, yet also catchy and definitely not an intellectual insult on the musical spectrum. They hate stupidity so much they've attacked it on both ends!

I should perhaps clarify that I'm referring to Adam Lazlo and Sebastian Bracht when I say "they." One will quickly find that both men are exceptional musicians in every category. The sheer amount of utterly brilliant guitar acrobatics is enough to make anyone even remotely interested in technicality gasp in delight, but the duo's primary strength lies within the superb songwriting. Every song, although rooted in the same structure as technical death metal often is, drops and climbs on a multitude of enthralling pieces that are equal parts savage and perplexing. Sometimes they make things really memorable, especially the fiery blast-laden conclusion of "Freedom of Mind." With that said, they never run low on the essentials: smoking riffs so twistingly complex and precise that even Carl Sagan would crap himself, ravenous percussion often layered in blast beats and puzzlingly fun fills, bass work that would fry an amateur’s unprepared fingers, and traditionally harsh growls.

Yep, can't say the shattering gutturals are, uh, mathematical or technical; that sounds difficult, almost too difficult. Back on topic, Sophicide establishes an identity in purely organized chaos, and changeups are seldom found. Specifically, "Folie Á Deux" stops the mayhem for a minute or so before the madness ignites once more, and that's the sole anomaly available on "Perdition of the Sublime." The lack of musically unique tunes doesn't tear down the record at any rate, as each song provides enough chops and hooks to utterly pulverize the scheme of societal drivel. If I had to choose a favorite song, I'd probably pick "Freedom of Mind" as I already mentioned or "The Art of Atrocity," which sticks with me more than the other rampages; it's quite a catchy song, actually.

"Perdition of the Sublime" is definitely one of the better technical death metal offerings produced in 2012. You won't find any spacey, mega-abstract progressive tints like Spawn of Possession or Obscura, but Sophicide works well in their own skin, and they certainly find no trouble slithering through the rudimentary elements of technical death metal. Hell, Sophicide has dethroned a staggering portion of their counterparts simply based on the meaningful themes of their assault, and it's nice to have something lasting and impressive which isn't weighed down by twenty-minutes of chaotic sweep picking for the sake of chaotic sweep picking. In fact, the status quo of technical death metal could learn a lot from Sophicide.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com