Cerebrum – Iridium

 Ever since my discovery of Azooma four years ago, the world of technical death metal has really expanded open like a book of many wonders right before my eyes ripe with so many different selections and flavors to choose from. It’s been a hell of a ride and easily my favorite part of the style is how it seems that every new band I come across has its own particular approach that allows them to have a distinct sound. Tonight as I listened to Cerebrum, that still rang true and that helped their upcoming effort feel fresh, heavy, and an absolute jam from front to back.

The progressive-like nature of tech-death is another favorite thing of mine as it always feels as though every band of the style is really trying to push death metal into higher heights as the fretboard is constantly being explored in an innumerable amount of different combinations to make every flashy display all the more interesting and entertaining. While some bands tend to focus more of the flashy end, it’s with Cerebrum that we see more focus on the amount of heaviness while still paying close attention to the bombastic nature and eclectic sound that really makes “Iridium” a truly wild ride with extremely little downtime. I’ve never and will never claim myself as a tech-death official, but it’s easily with Cerebrum here that I’ve seen the most devastating showcase of quality from the style that’s sure to rival that of recent crazes like Inferi with how explosive everything is from the murderous vocals to the instruments that have more flavors than an ice cream shop to the cosmic-bending cover art. And with each listen of “Iridium” there’s always more to discover! It’s a real art to make your album something that demands more than one listen to ensure that you really heard everything properly with each song hiding little secrets that are absolute treats to discover, but Cerebrum did it with “Iridium” brilliantly! There isn’t a single stone left unturned with this record and that ensures that this Greek quartet really impresses, and is something that’s no less than truly infectious.

It’s typically with the Greek metal scene that I find myself praising the thrash scene more so than literally any other style coming out of the country with thrash acts like Biotoxic Warfare and Suicidal Angels still personal favorites of mine, but it’s with Cerebrum that we see the tech-death talent of the country is perfect hands. In every form, “Iridium” is an absolute devastator of a record that has got to be heard by anyone who’s ever been entranced by the multi-faceted nature of tech-death or even by anyone who likes flashy guitar work because this album has got all of that excellence and more in fucking boatloads!

“Iridium” releases on December 21st via Transcending Obscurity Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Iridium” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Cerebrum on Facebook here.