Have you ever been driving in a car, and you or your friend is smoking? It's almost done, so it's time to flick it out the window. Then a few miles later...you start to smell smoke. So you turn around...AND THERE'S A BUNCH OF MURDEROUS CYBORGS IN YOUR BACKSEAT AND THEY USE THEIR PISTON-LIKE STRENGTH TO CRUSH YOU INTO A DRIPPING BALL OF FLESH AND BONE?! Just me? Well, if you want to live the same experience vicariously, you should check out tech death band, Coma Cluster Void. This maniacal math metal collective with members from USA, Canada, and Germany that features Mike Disalvo (Ex- Cryptopsy), 10-string guitar, and mind-breaking drumming.
Coma Cluster Void is kind of like Meshuggah meets something like Krallice. Some songs are more based in the groove of the former and have a certain level of catchiness. I like to bang my head a lot, so these tracks like "Drowning in Sorrow," "Mind Cemetaries," and "Everything is Meant to Kill Us" tend to be my favorites. There is still an increased level of chaos that keeps things more in technical death realm, but they are still the more accessible songs to listen to. Other tracks favor the more avant-garde style of the latter. These tend to be more dissonant and uninviting on all fronts. Ulcerate may be another fair comparison for these moments.
Digging deeper, everything starts to spiral nearly out of control. Compositions seem to be held together by the finest silk thread. The previously ordered death vocals go rogue in terms of cadence, and strange bouts of spoken word and other delvieres crop up without warning. Instrumentation will shift from ominous ambience to grinding machinery. Time for an oil change, guys. As I mentioned from the outset, the drumming is totally insane. This guy must have won some sort of demonic metronome in a drum-off with the devil himself. Try keeping pace, I dare you. The guitars are equally infuriating in terms of pacing and sense of (a)melody. Normally I start to get put off when things get so technical as to abandon any level of convention, but Coma Cluster Void manages to creep right up to that precipice without ever quite diving over the edge.
Fans of all things heavy and technical are going to have a field day with this one. Mind Cemeteries is every bit as sonically challenging as other big-hitters this year in CB Murdoc, Wormed, and the like. And while the compositions can be a bit more "artsy" and bleak, the album manages to maintain a certain level of humanity that I found myself able to connect with. Give this one a couple spins. I was a bit skeptical when I listened to my first track, but by just a few more songs in I was becoming more and more impressed with what Coma Cluster Void have accomplished. More required listening for 2016. Full stream below.