EXUVIAL — “THE HIVE MIND CHRONICLES PART I: PARASITICA”

(Here we have our friend Gonzo‘s enthusiastic review of a new album from Denver-based Exuvial, and we share the just-released first single from the album.)

It’s hard to turn heads (and melt faces) in tech-death anymore, thanks in part to so many bands who continuously raise the bar with stellar musicianship and songwriting (see The Zenith Passage, Archspire, ATRÆ BILIS). So, when a new band conjures up a debut album that could stand on its own next to names like those, I take note.

With that, I give you Denver’s Exuvial.

Following in similar footsteps as tech-death stalwarts Obscura and Inferi, it’s clear that Exuvial  are aiming high for their first full-length. Their airtight, stop-on-a-dime songwriting brings to mind some of the best of what either of their peers mentioned above have accomplished during their careers. But while their sound might borrow some elements from those who came before them, Exuvial are clearly blazing their own ambitious path.

Leadoff track (and first single) “Hive Mind I: Convergent Evolution” will sandblast the paint off your walls, with its winding riffs, unpredictable tempo changes, and brutal arpeggios galore. Vocalists/guitarists Ethan Walden and Fernando del Valle III breathlessly trade blazing-fast riffs with tormented screams, while bassist Ibrahim Jimenez’s bottom-heavy grooves lurk underneath.

Drummer Andrew Baird, also of Fallujah fame, blasts the hell out of the kit like it insulted his mother. The off-time interlude in “Hive Mind II: Advent of Segmentation” features a proggy connecting bridge that shows off the band’s knack for dynamics. In it, all four musicians seem to create their own hive mind together for over eight minutes, and the results have warranted more than a few listens from this humble scribe.

The ”Hive Mind” trilogy – tracks 2 through 4 – could easily stand alone as a very exciting EP, and that introduction might be enough for some bands to hang their hats on. Exuvial aren’t content to leave it there.

Follow-up track “Hypermanipulation” begins with a rumbling riff, waging precision audial warfare before it’s even a minute in. Some of the song structure even falls under what I’d call “metal counterpoint,” unfurling its complex layers with smoldering intensity. Some of the guitar work even reminds me of Thantifaxath from time to time. Baird’s lightning-fast percussive assaults are a perfect fit for this music, and his work behind the kit throughout the album is nothing short of elite.

Inferi guitarist Sanjay Kumar brings his fretwork to “Parasitica,” while Greylotus axe man Ben Towles contributes some work on the menacing, Meshuggah-like “Subterranean Swarm.” It’s only on songs like the latter, which slow down the tempo to a mid-paced stomp, that you realize how dense yet memorable these songs can be.

Through and through, Exuvial’s debut album is a striking statement that was years in the making. The work has clearly paid off. Don’t sleep on this album when it drops on September 27.

In the meantime, you can check out the first two tracks from the album below, which debuted late last week (as well as an official video for the first single).

https://exuvial.bandcamp.com/album/hive-mind-i-convergent-evolution
https://www.facebook.com/exuvialband
https://www.instagram.com/exuvialmusic/