UMUR
"Alchemist" is an EP release by US, Pittsburg, California based death metal act Hemotoxin. The EP was released through Brutal Gear/Clandestine Records in April 2014. The EP is available in digital format at a "name your price" tag on Hemotoxin´s Bandcamp profile. Hemotoxin was formed in 2010 and released several demos and the "Divinity in Torture" EP in 2012, before releasing their debut full-length studio album "Between Forever... and the End" in 2013. "Alchemist" is the follow up release to that album.
The 5 tracks on the 19:53 minutes long EP pretty much continue the strongly 90s Death (the band) influenced technical/progressive death metal style of "Between Forever... and the End (2013)" except for the short intro and the closing track on the EP, which is a cover of "After Forever" by Black Sabbath. The musicianship are on a high level, with convincing aggressive growling vocals, fast aggressive death/thrashy riffing and drumming, pretty well played solos, and Hemotoxin are overall a tight playing unit.
The original tracks on the album are well composed although the Death influence is maybe a bit too obvious, and I miss more original ideas from the band. The cover version of "After Forever" isn´t that successful to my ears though. I´m not sure if it´s under rehearsed or if it´s the arrangement of the track that´s a bit off, but it doesn´t sound that great. The sound production is professional, clear, and powerful, and overall "Alchemist" is a quality product despite a few issues (mainly that the band almost clone ideas from Death). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.