Origin: Canada Release date: April 20, 2012 Label: Self-Released Lyrical content: War, Human Stupidity, Injustice Duration: 43:32 Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal For some reason, Canada is Technical Death Metal-land in my head, easily taking the crown with Ascariasis and on April 20, they will solidify their position with Derelict’s third full-length Perpetuation. We already covered the fact that two of the twelve songs were up for free download before, but vocalist and owner of Ricburn Media Eric Burnet offered us to take care of his baby. A duty I will fulfill with the greatest pleasure.

The fact that I mentioned Ascariasis is a bit problematic, because they are just fucking epic, and in such I have a hard time in objectively judging Perpetuation. It will most probably be the case that in my effort to not underestimate this album, I’d grossly overrate it, which is good for the band image, but bad for mine. So I’ll dive in while trying to forget Ocean of Colour, an EP we didn’t even cover on here. Where have we been with our meat-covered asses over the past few weeks?

What directly stands out on Perpetuation is its frantic and driving tempo, which accompanies the crushing technicalities of bith drums and guitars. The drums are simply amazing. While checking out the Tube for some Derelict vids I spotted a video of drummer Jordan Perry playing the title track: effortless blastbeats, employment of heel-toe techniques and changing rhythm as if he were making sandwiches. The heavy double bass pounds keep hitting your face at the varying rhythms presented by the band, a feat which makes this album a true sensation to listen to.
On the seven strings, we find an awesome polyrythmic mix of melodic leads and rhythmic guitar playing, which often apply tremolo picking or technical riffing. The guitars are in perfect sync with the drummer and the bass playing is dynamic and varied. Its “walking” rhythm and frequent outbursts to the higher regions of a scale make it stand out against the on-going double bass blasts.
Burnet’s vocals are unique and are presented in sheer awesomeness, mixing in a little melody from time to time, as seen in the song Shackles of Indoctrination. The dynamic alternation between layered and single vocals also adds an extra dimension, something of which I wholeheartedly approve.

The sound of Perpetuation is solid and the music is varied, but sometimes I feel that the guys are just blasting by, without me being able to appreciate their technicality. On the one hand this is good, because it makes listening to this album less tiring, something which I often experience with other Tech-Death or Progressive Metal albums. However, one really has to listen closely in order to pick out the awesome tricks these guys have up their sleeves, because let me be honest with you, there is some great riffs and beats going on in each song. Again, this can also be seen as a positive point since it keeps the album interesting. The listener discovers something new and exciting with every listen.

In conclusion, Perpetuation is like a shiny diamond. One might find it boring because it has no colour and has a solid and even shape. But when it’s held against the light, we see a complex interaction of beautiful colours inside the precious stone.

My Grade: 8.5+/10
Buy this when:

[UPDATE: The brothers over at Puregrainaudio were granted to be the host of the complete album stream premiere, of which we'll just take advantage. Thanks guys!]

Tags: Canadian, death, progressive, technical

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