Illogicist The Insight Eye
Willowtip Records WT051 July 10, 2007
By Jason Jordan
Aside from the phenomenal Odious Mortem record, Willowtip was quiet the entire first half of 2007. Since Willowtip and Neurotic recently joined forces, however, look for a whole slew of technical death releases to hit the second half of the year, beginning with The Insight Eye from Italys Illogicist. Considering the label has always favored quality to quantity, its unsurprising that the sophomore installment in the Illogicist saga is an incredibly satisfying listen for tech death followers, even if it sometimes comes across as an exercise in Death worship.
One of the main selling points, if not the selling point, is the fact that the revered Marco Minnemann (Necrophagist) sits behind the kit. And, as usual, he turns in an excellent performance. Though less notable in a sense, the other musicians are also stunning, but the fact that tech death metal calls for technicality results in the listener expecting skills of the highest caliber anyway. While theres a general Death feel to many of these songs, its not until Be My Guide that Illogicist lay the Death sound on thick. The vocals, riffs, tempos, and drums all point to Schuldiners brainchild circa The Sound of Perseverance. Nevertheless, if you can get past those similarities, youll be fine. Plus, with eight tracks that span 41 minutes, this offers plenty of bite for the bucks.
In the past few years, Willowtip has become one of metals most consistent labels. An album like this is yet another reason why theyve ascended to such heights. Odious Mortems Cryptic Implosion may be superior, but its also a more modern take on the style, so for those into more traditional tech death, Illogicists The Insight Eye will do you right. Both get a thumbs up, though.
Official Illogicist Website
Official Willowtip Records Website
Willowtip Records WT051 July 10, 2007
By Jason Jordan
Aside from the phenomenal Odious Mortem record, Willowtip was quiet the entire first half of 2007. Since Willowtip and Neurotic recently joined forces, however, look for a whole slew of technical death releases to hit the second half of the year, beginning with The Insight Eye from Italys Illogicist. Considering the label has always favored quality to quantity, its unsurprising that the sophomore installment in the Illogicist saga is an incredibly satisfying listen for tech death followers, even if it sometimes comes across as an exercise in Death worship.
One of the main selling points, if not the selling point, is the fact that the revered Marco Minnemann (Necrophagist) sits behind the kit. And, as usual, he turns in an excellent performance. Though less notable in a sense, the other musicians are also stunning, but the fact that tech death metal calls for technicality results in the listener expecting skills of the highest caliber anyway. While theres a general Death feel to many of these songs, its not until Be My Guide that Illogicist lay the Death sound on thick. The vocals, riffs, tempos, and drums all point to Schuldiners brainchild circa The Sound of Perseverance. Nevertheless, if you can get past those similarities, youll be fine. Plus, with eight tracks that span 41 minutes, this offers plenty of bite for the bucks.
In the past few years, Willowtip has become one of metals most consistent labels. An album like this is yet another reason why theyve ascended to such heights. Odious Mortems Cryptic Implosion may be superior, but its also a more modern take on the style, so for those into more traditional tech death, Illogicists The Insight Eye will do you right. Both get a thumbs up, though.
Official Illogicist Website
Official Willowtip Records Website
