Album Review: Derelict – Perpetuation

Origin: Canada Release date: April 20, 2012 Label: Self-Released Lyrical content: War, Human Stupidity, Injustice Duration: 43:32 Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal For some reason, Canada is Technical Death Metal-land in my head, easily taking the crown with Ascariasis and on April 20, they will solidify their position with Derelict’s third full-length Perpetuation. We already covered the fact that two of the twelve songs were up for free download before, but vocalist and owner of Ricburn Media Eric Burnet offered us to take care of his baby. A duty I will fulfill with the greatest pleasure.

The fact that I mentioned Ascariasis is a bit
problematic, because they are just smurfin' epic, and in such I have a
hard time in objectively judging Perpetuation. It will most probably be
the case that in my effort to not underestimate this album, I’d grossly
overrate it, which is good for the band image, but bad for mine. So I’ll
dive in while trying to forget Ocean of Colour, an EP we didn’t even
cover on here. Where have we been with our meat-covered asses over the
past few weeks?

What directly stands out on Perpetuation is its
frantic and driving tempo, which accompanies the crushing technicalities
of bith drums and guitars. The drums are simply amazing. While checking
out the Tube for some Derelict vids I spotted a video of drummer Jordan
Perry playing the title track: effortless blastbeats, employment of
heel-toe techniques and changing rhythm as if he were making sandwiches.
The heavy double bass pounds keep hitting your face at the varying
rhythms presented by the band, a feat which makes this album a true
sensation to listen to.
On the seven strings, we find an awesome polyrythmic mix of melodic
leads and rhythmic guitar playing, which often apply tremolo picking or
technical riffing. The guitars are in perfect sync with the drummer and
the bass playing is dynamic and varied. Its “walking” rhythm and
frequent outbursts to the higher regions of a scale make it stand out
against the on-going double bass blasts.
Burnet’s vocals are unique and are presented in sheer awesomeness,
mixing in a little melody from time to time, as seen in the song
Shackles of Indoctrination. The dynamic alternation between layered and
single vocals also adds an extra dimension, something of which I
wholeheartedly approve.

The sound of Perpetuation is solid and the music is
varied, but sometimes I feel that the guys are just blasting by, without
me being able to appreciate their technicality. On the one hand this is
good, because it makes listening to this album less tiring, something
which I often experience with other Tech-Death or Progressive Metal
albums. However, one really has to listen closely in order to pick out
the awesome tricks these guys have up their sleeves, because let me be
honest with you, there is some great riffs and beats going on in each
song. Again, this can also be seen as a positive point since it keeps
the album interesting. The listener discovers something new and exciting
with every listen.



In conclusion, Perpetuation is like a shiny diamond.
One might find it boring because it has no colour and has a solid and
even shape. But when it’s held against the light, we see a complex
interaction of beautiful colours inside the precious stone.

My Grade: 8.5+/10
Buy this when:

• you like Technical Death Metal, duh
  
• you like albums that let you discover new things every time you listen to them
  

Is this a christian band? Very good, yes seems Canada is tech-death land with bands like into eternity and I believe Sympathy hails from the great north. It's crazy how varied metal is by region, sad to say I live in metalcore land

rideronawhitehorse wrote:Is this a christian band? Very good, yes seems Canada is tech-death land with bands like into eternity and I believe Sympathy hails from the great north. It's crazy how varied metal is by region, sad to say I live in metalcore land

Haha, no they're secular. Luckily I live in a Black and Death metal land

I have completely given up trying to go to shows around here with the invasion of core and all thier tight pants fight dancing girly clean vocals breakdowns. I envy your music scene lol.

rideronawhitehorse wrote:I have completely given up trying to go to shows around here with the invasion of core and all thier tight pants fight dancing girly clean vocals breakdowns. I envy your music scene lol.

Haha, and it's probably the size too. I can go to any concert I like because everything is within the 1 1/2 hour driving distance.