Released by: Self-released
Production: Hannes Grossmann, V. Santura
Release date: March 2015
Album length: 73:01
These days we can probably say, no need to think twice, that extremity in metal has peaked. But every year some band turns up determined to prove there’s still more to squeeze out. Bands appear that are more technical, faster and, in theory, more progressive too. Sadly, many of these attempts fall flat because of overkill that ends up pointless. Of course there are also shining exceptions, bands that took the Necrophagist recipe, polished it up and simply made it more progressive. Among the more talked-about acts are America’s The Faceless and Canada’s Beyond Creation.
Germany’s Alkaloid, formed by former and current members of Necrophagist, Obscura, God Dethroned, Dark Fortress, Noneuclid and others, has climbed one more step up the ladder thanks to its push for more progressive writing and, of course, extremity. Above all, the band’s education and out-of-the-box thinking deserve the credit.
The idea for a new band came up between drummer Hannes Grossmann and guitarist Christian Münzner, who wanted something more than they could get in Obscura. Obscura simply wasn’t progressive enough for them. They invited classical composer Morean, who also works in the black metal band Dark Fortress. Seasoned bassist Linus Klausenitzer took over bass duties. Guitarist Danny Tunker, who makes his living in Aborted, joined the lineup too. These are clearly educated, experienced musicians, and from a lineup like that you can only expect the best, even though all sorts of misunderstandings and ego-measuring contests can pop up quickly in a setup like this.
To fund the album, the band also launched an IndieGogo campaign, and it was a success. These musicians obviously have enough of a reputation 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 many genres, though progressive death metal is front and center. But the past hasn’t been forgotten. By the second track, From a Hadron Machinist, the listener is told that there will be plenty of technical death metal moments too, the kind established by Necrophagist’s Epitaph (2004). It’s an old recipe, but today’s bands try to perfect it by not basing everything on speed, bringing in calm, clean passages in the vein of Opeth as well.
Grossmann, Münzner and Morean are listed as the main writers. You can only expect a very diverse album. On the third track, Cthulhu, Morean surprises. It’s a slow death metal track in the style of Morbid Angel, but it builds on atmosphere and psychedelia too. The fourth track brings a swerve into technical death metal built on speed and melody. Since this one is Münzner’s handiwork, it’s packed with crazy soloing rooted in a neoclassical style. To calm things down, Alkaloid offer Orgonism, where Morean’s clean vocals stand out first, which gives the album layers right from the opening track. Of course the song develops accordingly, so the calm doesn’t last long, and above all it never drags.
Morean hits his peak with Dyson Sphere, which is split into 4 parts. Whichever part you’re in, Dyson Sphere is full of unusual twists, build-ups, hypnotic and psychedelic moments, and also uncompromising brutality. These are demanding, tightly connected parts that need your full attention.
After Dyson Sphere, Alkaloid serve up the album’s title track, written by Münzner and Grossmann. It’s a death metal-minded track that also has death/doom elements. You can especially hear that the band took inspiration from some older death metal acts, and the Morbid Angel associations pop up above all.
On the second-to-last track, the instrumental C-Value Enigma, Morean proves his guitar chops, but toward the end the whole thing gets pretty annoying and a little unnecessary. The finish, though, is all the sweeter for it. 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 track is built complex, the listener gets a ton of information, and as it wraps up, the guitar duo of Münzner and Tunker fire 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 notch. Grossmann has an incredible sense of rhythm, and on the other hand his playing can be insanely fast. No need to go into detail here: plenty of bands that want to play more extreme would kill to have Grossmann. From Christian Münzner you can only expect the best after what he’s proven in Obscura, on his solo albums and as a guest on plenty of other records. Morean is of course also to blame for making this album so special, as his sense of the unconventional gave the whole record a lot of diversity and dynamics. You can definitely feel his influences coming from the black metal band Dark Fortress. Morean is interesting not just 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 yet 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 shine most in the calmer sections, but mostly you hear him as a solid support for the complex guitar lines. Third guitarist Danny Tunker contributed only some of the solos to the album. Tunker’s style is a bit different from Münzner’s and in its own way doesn’t stand out as much, but considering the circles Tunker comes from, his style can be seen as a breath of fresh air.
There’s nothing to complain about on the production side. Everything is laid out sensibly, and the sound is clear and modern, but luckily not sterile, as is common practice these days. The band produced the album themselves, but V. Santura (Dark Fortress), who has worked with the crew before, is responsible for the final polish.
A 73-minute album is no small bite. It isn’t stretched out, but it can be exhausting for a listener, demanding a lot of attention. Still, this is undoubtedly an incredible achievement. With their outstanding debut, Alkaloid have shown just what extremes progressive death metal can be pushed to. Now all we can hope for is that this won’t be the only album and that the band will hit the road for a tour too.
Musicians:
Morean – vocals, guitar
Hannes Grossmann – drums
Christian Münzner – guitar
Linus Klausenitzer – bass
Danny Tunker – guitar
Tracks:
- Carbon Phrases
- From a Hadron Machinist
- Cthulhu
- Alter Magnitudes
- Orgonism
- Dyson Sphere – I.Mining the Oorth Cloud
- Dyson Sphere – II.Assembly
- Dyson Sphere – III.Kardashev 2.1-The God Oven
- Dyson Sphere – IV.Sol Omega
- The Malkuth Grimoire
- C-Value Enigma
- Funeral For a Continent
