ALBUM REVIEW: Liquid Anatomy – Alkaloid

‘Progressive’ is an umbrella term that can inflect a myriad of difference styles and influences, often flitting from extreme to extreme in doing so. German five-piece outfit ALKALOID stand as a shimmering example of this, offering a curious brand of prog-metal awash with various extreme, technical, experimental, and death metal flavours. This outfit made their debut in 2016 with, The Malkuth Grimoire, a brusquely obscure but confident introduction, and will be succeeding this on May 18th via brand new offering Liquid Anatomy, a 65-minute long, serpentine beast of a record.

By their own admission, this band are “Defined through the field of tension created between musical opposites”. Such a fervently bold statement simply must be met with an equal measure of anticipation, so all that remains is to find out whether this level of credence matches the execution of the final product.

Primarily labelled as ‘extreme metal’, one envisions a certain sound when listening to ALKALOID for the first time. However, as we’ve already acknowledged, the band themselves make us of the phrase “musical opposites”, and this is certainly something that rings true as the opening section of Kernel Panic commences. The immediate vibe is one of folky, rocky, joviality; a bright, bouncy vibe that induces the opposite feeling from that of typical ‘extreme’ music. Husky, low-registered clean vocals ring out over the top of the opening riff, and an aura distinctly akin to prog-rock presents itself, as poly-rhythmic drum patterns form the spine, and catchy, harmonised vocal hooks soar over the mix. This being said, soon enough the listener is acquainted with the second of this act’s many faces, the clean guitar tones abruptly bleeding into those of a much more distorted, abrasive nature, and the clean, harmonic vocals becoming distinctly more harsh and aggressive. In the blink of an eye calm becomes wild, soft becomes heavy, and slow becomes fast; an apt microcosm of the trademark ALKALOID approach.

As the album progresses, the listener continues to witness the unveiling of several other ALKALOID personalities, as if they were a manic schizophrenic. In addition to the aforementioned prog-rock and classic death-metal approaches, the listener is often subjected to a modern prog-Esq groove approach, ultra-shreddy and technical sections not unlike the likes of OBSCURA, atmospheric, doom-inspired sections, and even some more ambitious approaches akin to eastern and Latin music. Eclectic doesn’t even begin to cover it. One of many examples, third track Azagthoth offers a passage encompassing much of this variation; a slow, suspenseful section laden with clean vocals and clean guitar tones, bleeding directly into a much faster, heavier, extreme passage, and followed immediately by a crushing guitar solo before arriving right back at the main chorus hook of the song, and closing out.

At an extensive 65 minutes long, this album really is able to serve as an excellent portrayal of everything ALKALOID is about. Each song is unique in its own way, showcasing a myriad of different textures and dynamic, whilst always maintaining a notably palpable trope, so as to not appear too convoluted or disorganised. This being said, Liquid Anatomy‘s final track Rise Of The Cephalopods is able to encapsulate all of this and more, in a mere single song. A meandering, multifaceted creature of a song, clocking in at an extensive 20 minutes long, this really is the epic crescendo that every good album deserves. This track offers everything; fast, slow, heavy, soft, bardic, aggressive, epic, technical, simple. All of it. Without necessarily having any recognisable structure, the song feels as complete as a single song can; various hooks and choruses (both vocal and instrumental) are introduced and reintroduced, guitar solos are littered liberally throughout, serving to maintain the distinctly technical element of the album, and the pace continually rises and falls, with episodes of clean, reserved sections being abruptly followed by those of the polar opposite nature. This is a song that truly has everything, and not only does it act as an epic conclusion to a solid album, but perhaps more importantly it acts as a perfect microcosm of the record as a whole. If you’re particularly bereft of time, or just a little lazy, then this should be your go-to song to gain a quick overview of what this band are all about.

One key thing really stands out when listening to Liquid Anatomy, namely its sheer diversity and creativity. As was said at the beginning, the label commonly associated with this band is extreme metal, but to say that this is misleading would be an understatement. Whilst somewhat convoluted and difficult to keep up with at times, what this album certainly doesn’t fail to do is keeping the listener entertained, offering everything from folk, to prog-rock, to the most extreme, technical, blast-beat-laden death metal, and as far as we’re concerned that should always be hailed as something special. Whilst not necessarily for everyone, ALKALOID have contrived to produce another incredibly confident and ambitious release, and this is become somewhat of a trademark approach for them. This isn’t a perfect album, but it’s not a million miles away, and at the very least it’s an extensive display of raw talent and creativity; not something you hear every day.

Rating: 8/10

Liquid Anatomy is out now via Season Of Mist

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