The second release from the mighty Alkaloid, proves that these guys are evolving and growing immensely as musicians. Truly progressive, which seems to not be so common these days.

“Kernel Panic” starts the album off with a very Rush/King Crimson vibe going on. Which then leads into some more traditional death metal elements. It sets the tone for the journey that this album will take you on.

“A Decreed By Laws Unwritten” opens with an absolutely mean riff in the style of Morbid Angel, but more intricate. Even the vocal approach is similar. I love that these guys mix the old school sound with the modern sound so seamlessly. There’s a very eerie clean break that leads into some grooving riffing, and some ripping soling… of course. An overall very cool track.

“Azagthoth” opens with some very eastern sounding percussion and rhythms, accompanied by some interesting use of harmonics. It then starts to groove like no other, with a ton of different vocal styles. I really dig the riffing in this track. And the “Azagthoth!” sounds so evil. You get a lot packed into this track.

“Liquid Anatomy” has a very cool melodic clean intro, with some really haunting vocals. The overall vibe changes things up a bit on the album. It showcases a different side of the band.

“Chaos Theory And Practice” opens about as “in your face” as it gets. Very chaotic and dissonant, followed directly by a very badass riff (Again very Morbid Angel styled) which I absolutely love! There’s a very cool riff that bounces back from heavy chords and scattered harmonics, with a haunting lead over it. It creates a very cool vibe, with some very memorable vocals on top of it. The same idea gets played around with throughout the song. This is one of the highlights for me, being that it really showcases the band’s versatility and compositional skills.

“Rise Of The Cephalopods” is the 20 min epic on the album. There’s an interview where Hannes talks about how he came up with the initial musical idea for it. It’s definitely my favorite track. We’ll just leave it at that…

For me, this was one of my top albums of the year. Every track stands out on its own. Truly progressive. I recommend buying this, and supporting these guys.
Liquid Anatomy