Acausal
Intrusion - Panpsychism
USA
I, Voidhanger
Acausal Intrusion is a death metal collective made up of musicians Nythroth (Feral Lord, Slog, etc.) and Cave Ritual (Irradiated Marrow, Ar'lyxkq'wr, etc.), and “Panpsychism” is their third full-length album since their formation in 2020.
Stylistically, this is experimental death metal with a kind of “freeform" approach reminiscent of bands like Ulcerate and Gorguts. You never really know where the music is going to go next, as each song consists of intricate time-changes and complex rhythms, but at the same time there is a lot of atmosphere in the music. Acausal Intrusion is not on the same level as the aforementioned bands in terms of technical prowess, but the music is technical nonetheless, paired with heavy layers of dissonance encompassing the songs.
Technical death metal
has a bad reputation for being overproduced and lacking any sort of depth, and
while that is true for the most part, that is certainly not the case here; on
the contrary, the production on this album manages to sound organic and gritty,
while still complementing the music with an audible mix.
The old tech-death bands like Cryptopsy, Gorguts, Atheist, etc., will always rule. Those bands were technical without resorting to mindless wankery. It’s cool that bands like Acausal Intrusion understand what makes this style work; however, they may adopt the same principles, but they are a different beast entirely, as the music on this record is much more dissonant and has a modern twist to it. The best comparison is undoubtedly Ulcerate from New Zealand, and to be fair, the influence is pretty evident. That’s not to say that’s a bad thing though. The vocals used on this album are definitely a lot more cavernous, and the compositions have a lot more “imperfections”, but this also adds charm to the music. After all, this is an underground death metal act.
The tracks on this album are between four and eight minutes long and are characterised by dark soundscapes and head-twisting riffs that keep you constantly on your toes and give you the feeling that a noose is tightening around your neck, as the suffocating atmosphere evokes a sense of terror in the listener.
“Panpsychism”
is an album best listened to in its entirety, as each haunting layer and
segment begins to make sense, though it's also a band that you have to be in
the right mood for in order to appreciate, as the music is very dense, dissonant
and rhythmically chaotic. If you like death metal with an unconventional
approach, or the bands mentioned earlier, check them out. (Jim)