Following a record deal with Season Of Mist Swiss quartet Virvum has re-released their punishing technical death metal debut album “Illuminance”.

“The Cypher Supreme” immediately starts with mind blowing tempo variations as the whole instrumentation draws clear inspiration from modern virtuoso prog style and certainly guitars tend to be fundamental in the creation of flamboyant progressions.

In the beginning the title track evokes luminous minimalist soundscape with the softest melodies but swiftly enters a particularly intense technical sonic realm that relies on precise guitar progressions marching through a claustrophobic fast rhythm which continues to mutate from primordial brutality to ambiance driven patterns.

“Ad Rigorem” continues to impress and surprise the listeners with a majestic series of guitars progressions following borderline abstract rhythmic patterns and showcasing great prowess & creativity in fact all the virtuoso guitar leads simply hold a strong charisma.

On the complex lengthy album closer “II: A Final Warming Shine: Ascension and Trespassing” Virvum goes beyond any expectation seamlessly creating dazzling technical prog oriented moments where guitars simply engage in eclectic progressions that inevitably steal the spotlight in the midst of savage death metal dynamics. Also the polychromatic melodies shine for the guitar sound clarity and the surreal atmospheric tonalities.

Overall, Virvum definitely hold an aggressive death metal core yet the truly noteworthy moments of “Illuminance” must be found in the instrumental technical variety that certainly showcases great potential and high expectations for the future of the band.