|
Neuraxis is a brutal, technical Canadian death metal band
that has been active since 1994. The band finally has started
to gain exposure in the last few years through heavy touring
and signed with Prosthetic Records for the release of The
Thin Line Between, their fifth studio album.
The first thing you notice when popping in The Thin Line
Between is the sheer brutality of this band. The second
thing I noticed is that there are overwhelmingly too many
lyrics in most of the material. In a way, it sets an
identity and gives an original quality to the band, but
at the same time, the unconventional delivery and the endless
amount of death growls from new vocalist Alex LeBlanc is nerve-wracking.
The technical prowess of this band is such that they would
benefit from more time in the spotlight. Less would equal
more in this case.
“Darkness Prevails” and “Wicked”
open the album with fury. Imagine a three-way match between
a jackhammer, chainsaw and a machine gun, and that's Neuraxis.
The problem is they let too many tricks out of the bag in
these first two cuts and the album steadily declines thereafter.
They show some ambition with the eight-plus minute title track,
but in the end it just plays as numerous ingredients thrown
into a boiling pot. In terms of overall heaviness and level
of extremity, The Thin Line Between is on par with
other recent death metal releases in 2008. Neuraxis seems
to have the skill and potential to create something unique
and take this thing steps forward, but opts to merely rattle
your skull instead.
®2008 Live-Metal.net
|
