Author: Primož Novak
Artist: Conquering Dystopia
Label: Self-released
Release: year_month
Runtime: 52:56
Rating: 4.5/5
There’s already a pretty healthy number of so-called allstar projects out there these days. Some get a great response, but plenty of them are just plain bad. With the instrumental project Conquering Dystopia, the story is a little different. The idea for the project was born after guitarists Jeff Loomis (ex-Nevermore) and Keith Merrow started demoing guitars and gear at various music trade shows. While reviewing the equipment, the two played snippets of music they’d written. Those snippets ended up being so interesting that people kept asking them why they didn’t just make a whole album together. Loomis and Merrow finally decided to make it happen, and called in Alex Webster, bassist of the legendary death metal band Cannibal Corpse, along with the young drumming genius Alex Rudinger.
Merrow and Rudinger are probably the least familiar names here. Merrow has shown off his skills on his solo albums and with the death metal band Demisery, but he never really broke through despite ideas that are remarkably innovative by today’s standards. Alex Rudinger is a young drummer who first made his name in Threat Signal, then The HAARP Machine, before plenty of people noticed his talent and he landed in the progressive death metal band The Faceless.
As for Conquering Dystopia themselves, the record is full of surprises, though you could see it coming that there was no way this would happen without Loomis’ insane soloing. Luckily, this isn’t just another Loomis solo album, and the riffs written by Keith Merrow really stand out. From what you hear, Loomis and Merrow are a perfect proof of how important the right hand is these days. Throughout the album, Merrow’s riffs show a guy who looks at music through a pretty wide lens. There are death metal riffs as well as progressive ones, the emphasis is of course on technicality, and the sound feels modern, which drummer Alex Rudinger and the production, naturally, helped with. Tracks like Prelude to Obliteration, Tethys and Autarch prove these musicians aren’t messing around. The guitars, to sum up, are complex, and so is the rhythm section. To balance out all that complexity, the mad guitar duo also serves up some calmer clean passages, or even a mellow short track like Doomsday Clock.
The guitars are without a doubt the bright spot of the album, and the same goes for Rudinger’s sick drumming, which is simply unmatched. At times Rudinger really stands out with his complex fills, assorted blast beats, otherworldly pedal work and inventive transitions. With his style, Alex Rudinger is one of the biggest talents in extreme drumming today. Playing brutal death metal or complex polyrhythms typical of djent bands is no problem for him. Every single gap on the album is filled by his playing.
The weak point of the album is actually bassist Alex Webster, who has played in complex bands before, like Blotted Science. Webster doesn’t shine with any special lines, and he’s hard to hear too. Then again, even if he’s just backing up the crazy guitar lines, he’s done more than a decent job.
The album closes on a very promising note with Destroyer of Dreams, which sums up what these musicians are capable of. At first the listener gets a calm opening that grows into indescribable chaos, followed by another calm-down at the end. After that, we can only hope this project turns into something bigger. We definitely wouldn’t say no to another album.
The debut from Conquering Dystopia embodies everything extreme metal is today. On the flip side, it can be pretty frustrating for musicians who want to go to extremes, since this album can be seen as a textbook for anyone who wants to get even close to them. Sadly, that level isn’t something you can just reach. You really have to invest years and years of your life in something like this.
Lineup
Keith Merrow – guitar
Jeff Loomis – guitar
Alex Rudinger – drums
Alex Webster – bass
Production
Mark Lewis
Tracklist
1. Prelude to Obliteration
2 Aethys
3. Ashes of Lesser Men
4. Doomsday Clock
5. Inexhaustible Savagery
6. Totalitarian Sphere
7. Lachrymose
8. Autarch
9. Nuclear Justice
10. Kufra at Dusk
11. Resurrection in Black
12. Destroyer of Dreams
