UMUR
"Entity" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Chicago based death metal act Nucleus. The album was released through Unspeakable Axe Records in June 2019. It´s the successor to "Sentient" from 2016 and features the same four-piece lineup who recorded the predecessor.
Stylistically the material on "Entity" is old school influenced death metal featuring sci-fi lyrics. It´s a well performed and relatively well produced album, and the sci-fi themed lyrics and imagery create a futuristic atmosphere to the album. The songwriting is of a good quality too and Nucleus certainly understand how to write an effectful death metal song with both a decent number of tempo changes, brutal riffs and heavy rhythms, atmosphere enhancing lead guitar work, occasional use of dissonance (which imply a slight Immolation influence), and a solid growling vocalist in front.
The word solid actually comes to mind often when listening to the album, which is of course great as it´s a word which spells quality, and Nucleus are definitely a quality death metal act. I´m a little less inclined to use the word excellent here though, as I still think the band are lacking a few things to enter the premier league of death metal. First of all the material could have been a little more catchy/hook laden (and it´s got nothing to do with variation, because considering the core music style here, there is actually a decent amount of variation on the album) and secondly a more distinct sounding growling vocal style could also have enhanced the overall impression of the album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still well deserved though and Nucleus can rightfully be proud of what they´ve achieved with "Entity".