originally written by Chris McDonald
Dismal Lapse’s debut EP, The Nameless Faceless, was a solid and promising tech death outing which hinted at potential with a couple of interesting melodic and progressive twists. The Californian trio seems perfectly suited to Deepsend’s roster, a label which has been making a name for itself with a solid lineup of modern death metal projects. Despite Dismal Lapse’s short time together as a band, their full-length debut Eon Fragmentation is a skillful and impressive take on the tech death genre, and could easily fool the uninformed into thinking these guys were long unheard-of veterans.
Some of you may make immediate comparisons to Decapitated on hearing the sleek riffing of opener “Addicted To Tomorrow”; the ultra-clean production and leering guitarwork definitely brings Vogg’s sound and style to mind. But the excellent jazzy clean break in that same track also lets the listener know that these guys intend to bring some different things to the table. While razor-precise death metal is the band’s foundation, Dismal Lapse have obviously put a lot of work in making each song distinctive in its own right. “Divide and Devour” features an almost trad-metal sounding guitar solo, and the stuttering melodies of the aforementioned “Addicted To Tomorrow” and “Clipping The Wings of Hope” (one of two tracks rerecorded from The Nameless Faceless EP) are pretty damn infectious for an album of this style. Aside from the aforementioned title track, the band ventures into clean jazzy territory again in interlude “Beyond the Endless” and “Before Our Eyes,” and do a solid job at making these outside elements feel like a natural extension of the band’s bread and butter.
The musicianship is, of course, off the charts, but Eon Fragmentation is another example of the pleasing trend towards listenability we’ve witnessed in several modern bands in this genre. The riffs, while numerous, are delivered at a catchy and digestible pace, and while there’s still a healthy dose of the requisite flashy double-bass tricks and speedy guitar runs, the techy elements never overshadow the actual music. The bass guitar playing on this album is outstanding. Jason Brehm makes his presence felt on every song, and the production renders each note he plays with a clarity that should be the envy of most death metal bands. It’s also worth mentioning that drummer Chris Barnum also handles all of the vocals on this album, and considering the virtuosity of the drumming and the variety of vocal tones employed, that’s a fucking impressive feat.
They may not be as innovative as a Mithras or as brain-frying as a Psycroptic, but Dismal Lapse is more than capable of composing intense and compelling material, and they throw in a few interesting twists that should please genre enthusiasts. Those who prefer death metal’s more dark and savage side will probably be put off by this band’s instrumental acrobatics and jazzy melodic elements, but anyone with a hankering for some slick modern death metal should get a kick out of the head-spinning musicianship and solid songwriting found on Eon Fragmentation.
