Hey there tech fiends, it's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual reminder that if you're looking for more sick music, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
If you’re new to the band I'm covering today, Samskaras are an incredibly talented project based out of Montreal with a few singles and a top-notch 2017 EP Asunder released so far. I covered Asunder here, and for good reason, the band bills themselves as a product of the incredible Quebecois tech-death scene and their music reflects that well. We’re doing an early stream of their new four-song EP, Lithification ahead of its release this Friday, October 26th and this is a damn good effort you’re going to want to check out.
A mercurial yet balanced mix between shred and prog, between groove and chaos, all wrapped within intricate songwriting is where the Québec tech-death sound resides and Samskaras do all of those things well and then some. Their sound on Lithification is in line with what they were doing on Asunder but with some interesting additions here ranging from experimentations vocally, a new black metal element present in some of the riffing, and more emphasis on melodic breaks.
To give you a ballpark of what the band sounds like on Lithification, the influences they cite are spot on. They cite “Fellow Québécois artists such as Gorguts, Neuraxis, Quo Vadis, Cryptopsy, and Despised Icon. Inspiration is drawn from other far-flung corners of the extreme music spectrum as well, with bands such as Anaal Nathrakh, Converge, Wood Of Ypres, Cattle Decapitation, and Enslaved casting shadows on the compositions.” So their style of Canadian tech-death is energetic and layered yet very progressive death metal-minded at heart. I’d also say this is a bit groovier than the last one but groove has always been a part of their music since the beginning.
Eric Burnet’s powerful and varied vocals are also an impressive force here as is his guitar work and his bass playing, it’s clear that his many years spent in defunct tech-death act Derelict paid off as Samskaras from the start has had a clear vision and a multi-faceted approach to their brand of technical death metal. On drums, Alex Dupras is his usual machine-like self and continues to cement his status as one of the most creative death metal drummers around which was already confirmed through his jaw-dropping drumming for Unhuman and Teramobil prior to now.
If you like your tech death varied yet catchy at its core, Lithification is a release you'll likely find yourself sucked into. While Lithification may only be four songs, it’s four great songs that you’ll want to keep coming back to as they're all memorable in their own way. So be sure to check out the early stream below and if you dig it you can nab it name-your-price via the Samskaras Bandcamp page now as an early treat set up with the band ahead of the official release this Friday, October 26th. Be sure to follow the band over on the Samskaras Facebook page as well.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPbj9qMw7YGZk7T-d-magI3C9iTRuHeXF][/youtube]
