“Floating in Delirium” starts use off here, and this one certainly doesn't waste a single second throwing you directly into the pits of hell. With some explosive growls and brutal guitars and drums however, I feel like this is a little much right off the bat. Now, I’m not gonna sit here and say that I was expecting some sweet ambient intro, BUT i do feel like this is a little rushed. Some of the most atmospheric stuff around the 1 minute mark ends up making things a little deeper sounding, which I certainly enjoy a lot. But overall, it’s an alright introduction to the album. I still feel like “Floating In Delirium” comes off a little too chock full for my liking with its very technical riffs and pounding drums, but it’s far from bad in the slightest. It’s still really intense to say the least, and I do love the occasional atmospheric distant guitars. Let’s move on though, we have a long way to go! Up next we have “Synthesized Instinct”, and now that I feel like Artificial Brain have warmed up their sound, it all comes off a whole lot better. Now, I’ve heard PLENTY of technical death metal in my days, but this is certainly some of the most triumphant I’ve heard, the black metal influence in Artificial Brain is slight but it’s there. I actually really love the background screamed vocals, I would have loved to see these guys push even further into a Black Metal direction. But who am I to be critical on this one, this track is FANTASTIC. It’s just as techincal and absolutely brutal, but is it just me or this to an extent more catchy thanks to these screamed vocals and the off the wall guitars. Compared to the intro of this album, “Synthesized Instinct” is exactly what I want to hear from Artificial Brain. Plus, the atmospheric break passage comes out surprisingly stunning. It’s just as heavy as you’d want to hear from Artificial Brain, but for Death Metal it’s still certainly easy to appreciate and dissect. By the time we get to “Static Shattering”, things are really starting to get rolling here. Tracks like this seriously have been coming off fantastically so far, and as brutal as they remain it also remains surprisingly smooth. I love the brooding, dystopian atmosphere that always comes hand in hand with the band’s music, some of those instrumental passages always seem to come off so damn well. The solos are intense and continue to come off very grand sounding, and the screams that come with them make this all so fantastic. Now obviously Death Metal, especially technical Death Metal like this is going to be a little hard to swallow, but Artificial Brain really have something special. The atmosphere, and more of the instrumental breaks give their music such a vibrant personality. It might be a blood soaked disgusting personality, but it’s a personality nonetheless. If this world is pummeling into oblivion at light speed, Artificial Brain are certainly holding the wheel. Next up is “Estranged from Orbit” and right off the bat this one is just hitting everything I love about metal. The intro here might be on the slow side, but it’s just as explosive and heavy, with a gigantic atmosphere. Here, I love the fact paced brutal verses and how they’re all complimented by these very slow instrumental passages. These slower passages are absolutely massive, so much so that when it comes to tracks like “Estranged from Orbit” i can’t help but get caught up in Artificial Brain’s entire atmosphere. Listening to this I feel like I’ve wandered into some intergalactic bloody war, isn’t it great when Metal takes you places? But what makes Artificial Brain special, is that not only can they paint these huge atmospheres, but they do so without sacrificing any of what brought people here to begin with, the brutality. Plus, the dual vocals continue to be fantastic between the animalistic grunts and the tortured screams floating through the back. It’s brilliant.
Up next is the album’s title track, “Infrared Horizon”, and seriously this hulking atmosphere really doesn’t give you a minute to breath. These very triumphant guitar solos continue to be seriously sharp, and while this one is a little less explosive and exciting, it makes up for that by being just as crushing. Half of these tracks give me this feeling like I’m watching some really dark Sci-Fi thriller where an astronaut has just ran out of oxygen and is desperately trying to get back to the ship. Of course, in Artificial Brain’s world, this scene ends up in a horribly gory mess, but that’s what we all signed up for. That being said, this track doesn’t really hit me as hard. It really comes off as sort of a generic Death Metal track. Most of what makes this track a little underwhelming is the lack of personality. The atmosphere isn’t nearly as powerful and gripping on this track, but thankfully the solos are on point enough to break things up nicely. Artificial Brain however get right back in their groove however with “Anchored to the Inlayed Arc”. Here, they’re right back to being this intense fusion of Death Metal and Black Metal that I’ve always loved. Here, the atmosphere is back in full force, as well as those slight instrumental breaks that come off so nicely. Let me just say that overall, this is the sound that I want to hear from Artificial Brain. It’s easily just as intense and bone breaking, but it’s also melodic at parts as well as hugely atmospheric. I also feel like as this album goes on the vocals get more and more animalistic. “Anchored to the Inlayed Arc” is absolutely fantastic, not to mention the extended instrumental passage in the last 30 seconds or so is simply mesmerizing. On “Mist Like Mercury”, once again they’re going for a little more of a slower, more progressive sounding jam. I love the drum work here, as well as the very majestic guitar chords. But on this track, I feel like Artificial Brain fall short a little. I feel like for a while they had something seriously interesting building up, and on “Mist Like Mercury” they wipe that out for a little more of just the same. It’s not necessarily bad, but I can’t help but feel a little let down. This, like the intro of this album honestly comes off a little rushed sounding. The instrumentals aren’t nearly as interesting or even as hard hitting as they usually are. This one once again, goes right back to that feeling of zero personality being shown here. And that really sucks when that happens, because what makes so many of the tracks here fantastic is the overwhelming amount of personality that Artificial Brain show. The chords here don’t even come off as majestic, hell even the vocals sound like they’re trailing off a bit. I need a wake up call. Thankfully, Artificial Brain answer back with one of the album’s finest moments, “Vacant Explorer”. HERE, the band sound suddenly rejuvenated, full of energy, and most importantly right back in their creativity mode. We’re right back in the middle of this absolutely gruesome display of blood and guts, but with this constant really serene beauty constantly out of reach. The chords here are absolutely massive and very muscular, to the point where I feel like to every extent this is what they were going for on the last track here. Not to mention, strangely enough, some of the albums slowest moments are here, but they’re just as powerful and not a minute of this comes off nearly as boring as you would think. Plus, some of the instrumentals in the last 2 minutes or so are refreshing. As a matter of fact, the majority of this album is just so refreshing to the Death Metal genre. Hell yes.
Artificial Brain aren’t done with us yet, as a matter of fact they’ve saved one of their most brilliant moments for late in the album. Right from the intro to “Graveyard of Lightless Planets”, this track gives me the chills. There are some groove metal and progressive metal influences bubbling underneath the usual heavy technical death metal feel. But here, it’s a little different. I feel like “Graveyard of Lightless Planets” is the culmination of everything that’s been bubbling up over the past half hour. This is easily the most determined, streamlines sound I’ve heard here from Artificial Brain yet. As wild as some of the earlier tracks came off here, a lot of them came off a little too improvised or maybe a little too chaotic occasionally. But “Graveyard of Lightless Planets” comes off like it’s been worked on for years to be perfected. It’s explosive and aggressive, but it’s also triumphant and melodic, and most of all seriously exciting. Moments like this make me want to rewind right back to the first track and sit through this entire album all over again. Metal needs more moments like THAT. This track ends with a pretty pleasant 30 second or so ambient piece. But just when you thought that Artificial Brain were letting you off easy, “Ash Eclipse” begins. Clearly Artificial Brain aren’t done absolutely assaulting you yet. This track is a little less triumphant, but this track to me comes off as another really great explosion of every bit of tension built up on here, and that’s a solid ending in my book.
Rating: 7.8/10
Give A Listen To: Synthesized Insect, Estranged From Orbit, "Graveyard of Lightless Planets", "Vacant Explorer”
Overall Thoughts: First off, let me just say that Artificial Brain's first album hit just a little bit harder in the long run. Now that I have that out of the way, Artificial Brain on this album continue to be just refreshing as far as the Death Metal genre goes. Their personality and great use of atmosphere continues to come through in a huge way, often creating gruesome bloody atmospheres that compliment their songs brilliantly. Also, this album is a WHOLE lot more melodic and even catchy in parts bizarrely enough. If you're looking for a pretty easy Death Metal album to get into, look no further.
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