Progressive death metal is one of my many favorite sub-genres in the extreme scene with killer bands having made astonishing music within the last decade. Meet ÆPoch, a progressive death metal band residing in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada and have released their debut full-length Awakening Inception. Musically, this band incorporates technicality and melodic tempo signatures bringing a “Human” or “Individual Thought Patterns” Death-esque era inspired soundscapes with minor progressive layers of old Cynic. The songwriting and experimentation on Awakening Inception is surely worth the musical listening as this record features talented musicians including Sanjay Kumar of Wormhole, Stevie Boiser of Tethys and Enrico H Di Lorenzo from Italy’s Hideous Divinity all contribute themselves astonishingly to make the album extremely pulverizing.
Everything represented from the fascinating song signatures, audible instrumentals and well crafted craftsmanship displayed here is nothing but outstanding. While their EP Æpochalypse was a well experimented record, Awakening Inception is a masterclass in writing music that is both progressive and listenable for anyone’s interest for progressive death metal. This record not only shot themselves sky high to create a symbolic album but it takes the listener into a engaging and mesmerizing space themed explorations you’re going to hear a hidden gem within the technical and extreme metal scene years from now to witness such fascinating pieces of work. Do yourselves a favor because if you’re fans of Cynic, Death, Obscura and Beyond Creation or technical and progressive death metal in general with amazing track selections, ÆPoch’s Awakening Inception is by far a beautiful album beginning to end.
Overall Score: 8.5/10
Review by Jake Butler
