Archspire is one of my favourite finds of 2021. I love technical stuff, especially on guitar, and finding a band that pushes technicality to such an extreme with every band member is awesome. The thing that really sold it for me was how melodic and high quality they could still be despite the insane technical skill on display. No doubt, their brand of technical death metal is one of the most unique and difficult ones out there.
It all started with the title track, Bleed the Future. I was astounded by the speed which everything was going. The vocals caught my attention first, but on repeat listens it was quickly made clear to me that guitars, drums and bass were all at seemingly inhuman speeds too. Moments like Oli's "Nothing ever written could define the global hell to follow" immediately wowed me, and I loved how the melodic focus for the "bridge" gave it a very monumental feel.
I got into the other singles first, Drone Corpse Aviator and then Golden Mouth of Ruin respectively. Drone Corpse Aviator's riffage is insane, possibly one of the most technical guitar songs on the record. Golden Mouth of Ruin has some crazy drumming, which considering the baseline drumming standards throughout this record, says a lot. Both of them were definitely easier to listen to than the rest of the album, and by many standards, the better songs on the record.
It took me a while to get to the rest. Their brand of tech death took very, very long for me to get used to, longer than any other record had. After a while though, I started to appreciate the general quality of the record, as well as songs like Drain of Incarnation and Reverie on the Onyx. They have many hidden gems in the form of moments that encompass a lot of their technical and musical ability strewn about the tracklist. Some of my favourites include the dissonant slides on Drain of Incarnation, the delivery of the chorus on Reverie on the Onyx, and the one singular pinch harmonic on Abandon the Linear.
The band is so unbelievably talented and solid. Oli's vocals are so different and technically complex I would dare say it's one of a kind, especially knowing he has developed techniques like shotgunning to rap faster with his growls. Dean and Tobi's guitar parts are wild, able to easily transition between speed and melody, and dominating in both. Whether it's pure riffage, chugging fast, harmonising or solos, they never fail to make it technically and sonically amazing.
Spencer's drumming shocks me the most. The man literally seems robotic. The tempo he can reach as a baseline is insane, and then he throws in some extremely ridiculous rhythms, pacings and fills in the mix. The burst snares in Golden Mouth of Ruin, the double kicks in like every song, the cymbal usage in A.U.M., and the ridiculous limb independence throughout. Jared's bass has some great parts too, feeling more like a tonal counterpart rather than a different layer of lower frequencies. Some of the bass solos are extremely satisfying.
Archspire and Bleed The Future has opened my eyes to a new dimension of heavy. No band has ever embodied relentless brutality quite like this one, yet they still have so much melody and elegance in their two and a half billion notes, it's an absolute marvel to experience. Not for the faint of heart.
Rating: 10/10