Spectral Extravagance offers up a surprise with fourth track “Intolerable Ado”. For an advertised album that promises an all encompassing coverage of the tech death discipline, this specific number throws a curveball; Drummer George Kollias (yes, him) has a regulated splash that supports some seriously feral guitar groove here. Apollon Zygomalas, furthering this band’s credibility with powerfully agonized words, rues his hellish predicament with such blunt prose; “Lost my wife, lost my kid, zero solace.” It is a starkly appropriate vocal passage, dripping with the overall construction and mental preparedness that the lyrical content deserves. Great work on the skins, great riff, great vocals… It a fantastic 20 seconds that hammers home what Athens’ Cerebrum is all about; tech death that gets the Led out.
Kollias is only a session drummer this time around, but his work here is enthusiastic. While known for expansive solo work, the rhythm machinations here display such a relish for this brand of conceptual metal. Nile’s golden boy may get swamped with all the (astronomical) chops that are seemingly obligatory, but he proves further versatility if anything. At times, the rhythm is not near as layered and expressive as it should be, but it is certainly inspired (as in “Edge Of Parallel Circles”). “Thorns Of Weakness” offers a stunning death metal assault courtesy of Kollias, and should be more than enough for the desperate predators awaiting fresh Nile crocodile. As mentioned, Zygomalas maintains a consistent voice throughout this album, allowing for interpretation, animation, and fluidity in performance. Range is certainly a weapon in his arsenal, and he impressively invokes the vocal capacity of fellow Athenian Spiros Antoniou (Septic Flesh). Zygomalas even ventures into clean territory, while still maintaining presence and tact. Of course, Jim Tourus and Mike Papadopoulos exhibit inventive concertos, versatile fusion work and old school ferocity on the strings side of things. It all presents itself as a fantastic gift for tech heads, and also the patient fans of the progressive death of yore. Where does it lose its luster?
Well, it would have something to do with the slavish desire to capture the aesthetic and sound of past sensations. Luckily, these musicians do not fall into the same pitfall Obscura did this year; “The Prologue Of Completion” feels motivated and stirring, rather than a cold reading of acoustic prog which was all too common on Cosmogenesis. Alas, while these fanboys (in the kindest usage of the word) do not mimic past bands manifestly, the overall devotion to the style, sound, and timbre of early nineties progressive death metal moves quickly from intriguing to exasperating. Momentum that is built throughout the tracks is intermittently dashed by the band cautiously returning to an aesthetic that would not be unlike tracks from Confessor or Monstrosity. There is nothing wrong with resurrecting a lost (if dated) musical method, but the motivation here feels overwhelmingly didactic.
Opening track “Fragments Of Illusion” is active and headstrong, traits that disappear gradually as the record progresses; Cerebrum’s unnecessary commitment to veneration does not harm the riffs and genuinely enjoyable writing, but it does constrict other creative possibilities. This year’s Exivious proved that a dated musical field’s rules can be bent to suit the material. Spectral Extravagance may be unyieldingly level, but it is undeniably surprising.
(7.0/10)
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