album review tiiiime
Equipoise just released a new album today (March 8th for official streaming) and tbh.. I have some thoughts.
Album: Demiurgis
Artist: Equipoise
Genre: Technical Death Metal
Tracks: 14
Illborn Augury; 7/10
The intro to this album isn't the worst I've heard, but it could be better. There isn't much depth to it, however it is still enjoyable. I wish the song was more technical in the sense of using different patterns and rhythm. It sounds like one of those random shreds in the middle of a thrash song, one which no one expected. Overall, decent song, but I wish it was more like the intro to
The Path of Apotheosis by Inferi.
Sovereign Sacrifices; 8.3/10
Beginning of the song is slightly weaker than what I'd want. But the acoustic + bass riff soon after the song starts sounds great. It picks up from there and gets much better (and faster). There isn't much of an outro to this one, it just ends quite quickly. I love the riff of the song, I just wish it was played more and wasn't such a short riff. This is one of the few songs where the bass is less noticable, and the rest of the guitars is louder.
Alchemic Web of Deceit; 10/10
My favorite song of this album! (And onr of the first Equipoise songs I've ever heard) In my opinion, the beginning of this song is much stronger and more powerful compared to the entirety of
Illborn Augury. It's very reminiscent of Inferi's
Those Who from the Heavens Came, both of the bands being signed under the same label. I find that there is a lot of buildup and interludes, not much of your typical loud and progressive techdeath. The bass is very loud in this one, but it's not overwhelming to my ears. To someone who's not a fan of Obscura or fretless bass in general, this may not be the song for you.
A Suit of My Flesh; 8.9/10
A Suit of My Flesh starts off quite dark, but picks up a minute in. It's one of the more djent-y and groovy songs, and has more raw vocals, ones which would probably be found in deathcore. The rhythm is well thought out, and around the 3 minute mark, starts to get even groovier. It doesn't sound like typical groove metal, and I probably wouldn't like it as much if it did.
Shrouded; 8.2/10
The first interlude, I'd say. There's not much to it, it's quiet, reminds me of music I'd hear at the local grocery store, and easy to listen to. Probably the most danceable to. The bass is relatively quiet and absent for some of the song. The rest is just an acoustic guitar solo.
Sigil Insidious; 8/10
Starts off very fast, and doesn't slow down for a while. It sounds light compared to the others, no low tone chords being used. It's also somewhat djent-y with the riff, but not as much as some prog bands. The riff is played out very short. It's not something I'd compare to
Walk by Pantera, more of Slayer's
Raining Blood. Halfway through, it does start to slow down and proceeds to less of pure shredding and more of technical and well thought out playing. Soon it does start to pick up again, and the riff plays out several more times before ending abruptly.
Reincarnated; 8.7/10
The beginning is very slow, and the bass isn't present for a while. It has a similar feeling to Rings of Saturn's
Unhallowed, just quite a bit longer. Piano is very noticable halfway in, which is what I think makes this band unique. Not many other techdeath bands incorporate piano, if any. The ending slows down at a good pace. It's not too slow, and not too fast. There are no vocals, but this song is longer compared to other techdeath interludes.
Dualis Flamel; 10/10
I'd never in my life heard a song like this. It's interesting and special to me. The intro starts off fast, and once again reminds me of Inferi. There's a lot of various shreds and solos, all of which are by 7 people (omg????). It's easy to listen to, especially if you're a fan of simply amazing guitars. 5 minutes in, the song gets even better. The vocals match so nicely with the rest of the song, and it's my favorite part. When I first heard this, I was absolutely stunned. When the vocals shift a pitch, so do the guitars and bass. During the end, there's a lot of triple drum beats and the piano returns. I can't put into words how awesome this one is. I can tell there was a lot of time and effort during the making.
Eve of the Promised Day; 7/10
This song is alright. It's too slow for my liking, even though the pace changes a lot. It's not very technical either. It sounds more of just a regular prog metal song, no death influence. I think some vocals would go well with this one.
Waking Divinity; 8.6/10
I found this band through this song, although it isn't my absolute favorite. It picks up fast halfway, and the riff is longer than several other songs. It matches the vocals also, which makes it even better. I'm not the biggest fan of the shred solo in the middle, as it's too slow for my taste. The vocals go very well with the song. It's probably my favorite part of listening to it, it's just so easy to sing along to. The last few notes at the end are a nice touch.
Ecliptic; 8.5/10
Another interlude? You guessed it! This is much darker and symphonic than the others, not something I'd expect from a death metal band. It sounds almost like it belongs in a spooky part of a popular RPG like OneShot or Undertale? It sounds amazing nonetheless. I love the spookiness of it. Not sure about how bluntly it ends, though.
Squall of Souls; 8/10
Just like the last song, the beginning does sound ominous. Does start to get groovy and nicely paced. Fun to listen to if you're bored and want some djent. There's not much variety to this one, but of course there is piano! And raw vocals to go along with the piano solo. The part after is meh, it sounds a little sloppy. Kinda like Equipoise tried to add more djent, but it doesn't sound like it should. The part after also sounds like it should be in a video game. After is probably one of the best mid-song drumrolls I've ever heard. Starts to get quiet after, followed by clean vocals. Not bad.
Cast into Exile; 7.7/10
Drums sound top quality here, not so much for the bass. Again, the guitars go great with the vocals. Could be one of my favorite things about Equipoise, they make vocals work amazing. A couple minutes in, there's more shredding, and another short drumroll. 10/10 would listen to the drumroll again. In the end, there's some piano and slowish drums. Not much to say about this song, even though it's a whole 8 minutes. I wish it was more technical and the notes weren't so drawn out. I noticed that in this one, it sounded sort of like the instruments didn't go together very much. Not sure how.
Ouroboric; 6.8/10
Ouroboric is the last song off Demiurgis, and definitely has the best name. Piano is apparent in the beginning, and the guitars start off slow and kind of dark. It sounds too shreddy to me, I wish there would either be less or it was just faster and more Rings of Saturn style. I can't say much about this one either, it's simple and includes no vocals. The darker guitars in the middle do sound cool, but there's nothing else that's notable. It doesn't sound like the final song of the album either.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
There were several beautiful songs I love a lot, but the others don't do much for me. I admit, I expected more when I heard the first few songs that Equipoise's record label released. The bass is suuuper loud. Never in my life have I heard bass being this incredibly loud. I still believe this is a great album for anyone who wants to get into heavier metal and stray further from metalcore bands. I also recommend this to people who are fans of Inferi, Obscura, and techdeath in general. If you like super fast paced songs (Archspire...), then this might not be the album for you.
full album stream if anyone wants to check it out
| cooper | [she/him] | ar 56 NA 
