Author: Primož Novak
Artist: Alkaloid
Label: Self-released
Release: year_month
Length: 73:01
Rating: 5/5
These days we can probably say without a second thought that extremity in metal has hit its ceiling. Yet every year some band turns up determined to prove there’s still more to squeeze out. Out come the more technical bands, the faster ones, and in principle the more progressive ones too. Sadly, plenty of these attempts fall flat because of overkill that ends up making no sense in the end. Of course, there are shining exceptions, bands who took the Necrophagist recipe, polished it and simply made it more progressive. Among the better-known ones are America’s The Faceless and Canada’s Beyond Creation.
The German outfit Alkaloid, formed by former and current members of Necrophagist, Obscure, God Dethroned, Dark Fortress, Noneuclid and others, has now climbed another rung higher, thanks to a drive for more progressive songwriting and, of course, extremity. Above all, though, the band’s education and out-of-the-box thinking deserve the credit.
The idea for the new band was born between drummer Hannes Grossman and guitarist Christian Münzner, who wanted something more than they could get in Obscura. Obscura, in their eyes, simply wasn’t progressive enough. They invited classical composer Morean, who also plays in the black metal band Dark Fortress. The seasoned Linus Klausenitzer took over bass duties. Guitarist Danny Tunker, who otherwise earns his bread in Aborted, joined the lineup as well. These are clearly educated, experienced musicians, and from a lineup like that you can only expect the best, even though it’s the kind of setup where misunderstandings and ego clashes can pop up fast.
To fund the album, the band also launched an IndieGogo campaign, and it was a success. The musicians involved clearly have a big enough name that plenty of people backed them.
With the first track they unveiled, Carbon Phrases, the band quickly shut up all the skeptics. It’s a track of over nine minutes, complex and structurally original, weaving together elements of all sorts of genres, though progressive death metal is front and center. But the past hasn’t been forgotten. Already with the second track, From a Hadron Machinist, the listener is told there will be plenty of technical death metal moments too, the kind established by Epitaph from Necrophagst (2004). It’s an old recipe, but today’s bands try to polish it by not basing everything on speed, bringing in calmer, clean, undistorted passages in the style of Opeth.
Grossmann, Münzner and Morean are credited as the main writers. All you can expect is a very varied album. With the third track, Cthulhu, Morean comes up with a surprise. It’s a slow death metal track in the style of Morbid Angel that builds on atmosphere and a good dose of psychedelia. The fourth track swings back to technical death metal built on speed and melody. And since that one is Münzner’s baby, it features crazy soloing rooted in a neoclassical style. To calm things down, Alkaloid serve up Orgonism, where Morean’s clean vocals stand out at first, adding layers to this album right from the opening track. Naturally, the song develops properly, so the calm doesn’t last long, and above all it never drags.
Morean reaches his peak with Dyson Sphere, which is split into four parts. Whichever part you’re in, Dyson Sphere is full of unusual twists, build-ups, hypnotic and psychedelic stretches, and plenty of uncompromising brutality. These are demanding, tightly linked parts that call for your full attention.
After Dyson Sphere, Alkaloid give us the album’s title track, written by Münzner and Grossmann. It’s a death metal-leaning song that also has some death/doom elements. You get the feeling the band took inspiration from some older death metal bands, and Morbid Angel come to mind most of all.
With the instrumental C-Value Enigma, second to last, Morean shows off his guitar chops, but toward the end the whole thing gets pretty annoying and a bit unnecessary. The finale, though, is that much sweeter. With the twelve-minute Funeral for a Continent, the band proves once and for all that they’re in a league of their own. The song is built complex, the listener gets a ton of information, and as it wraps up, the guitar duo of Münzner and Tunker fires off a whole barrage of virtuoso soloing, putting the final cherry on top of the album.
Everyone on the album shows even more than we’ve heard from them so far. Drummer Hannes Grossmann, one of the main songwriters, already showed his versatility on his solo album, but with Alkaloid he’s stepped up another level. Grossmann has an incredible sense of rhythm, and on the other hand his playing can be blisteringly fast. No need to go into detail here: plenty of bands that want to play more extreme music can only wish they had a Grossmann. From Christian Münzner you can expect nothing but the best after what he’s proven in Obscura, on his solo albums and as a guest on plenty of records. Morean is, of course, also to blame for making this album so special, bringing loads of diversity and dynamics to the whole thing with his sense of the unconventional. You can definitely feel the influences coming from his black metal band Dark Fortress. Morean isn’t just interesting as a songwriter but as a vocalist too. The depth of his growl fits perfectly with the low-tuned guitars, while his melodic vocals add another shade to everything, especially in the more atmospheric parts. Morean is also responsible for the lyrics, which were inspired by science fiction. Bassist Linus Klausenitzer had a tough job. His lines come through most in the calmer passages, but mostly you hear him as a solid support to the complex guitar work. Third guitarist Danny Tunker contributed only a few solos to the album. Tunker’s style is a little different from Münzner’s and in its own way doesn’t stand out as much, but given the circles Tunker comes from, his style can be seen as a breath of fresh air.
There’s nothing to complain about with the production. Everything is laid out sensibly, the sound is clear and modern, yet thankfully without the sterility that’s so common these days. The band produced the album themselves, but the final polish comes courtesy of V. Santura (Dark Fortress), who has worked with the crew before.
A 73-minute album is no small bite. It isn’t stretched out, but it can be exhausting for a listener, since it demands a lot of attention. Still, it’s undoubtedly an incredible achievement. With their outstanding debut, Alkaloid have shown just how far progressive death metal can be pushed into the extreme. Now we can only hope this won’t be the only album and that the band will hit the road for a tour too.
Lineup
Morean – vocals, guitar
Hannes Grossmann – drums
Christian Münzner – guitar
Linus Klausenitzer – bass
Danny Tunker – guitar
Production
Hannes Grossmann, V. Santura
Tracklist
01. Carbon Phrases
02. From a Hadron Machinist
03. Cthulhu
04. Alter Magnitudes
05. Orgonism
06. Dyson Sphere – I.Mining the Oorth Cloud
07. Dyson Sphere – II.Assembly
08. Dyson Sphere – III.Kardashev 2.1-The God Oven
09. Dyson Sphere – IV.Sol Omega
10. The Malkuth Grimoire
11. C-Value Enigma
12. Funeral For a Continent
