UMUR
"Nautilus World" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, California based death metal/deathcore act Vampire Squid. The album was independently released in September 2014. It´s available at a "name your price" tag on the band´s Bandcamp profile, and is also available on CD for a fixed price. Vampire Squid was formed in 2013, and "Nautilus World" is the band´s third album release in under 2 years.
The music on "Nautilus World" is a technical brand of death metal/deathcore with occasional progressive leanings. It´s generally quite the adventurous release played by technically skilled musicians. Tempo- and time signature changes, breaks, fast fretboard runs, and a varity of extreme vocal styles (growling, screaming, piggy squeals) are some of the elements which make up "Nautilus World". It´s not only the music which is adventurous, but also the lyrics, which song titles like "Deathstarfish", "Alliance Proposal to the Squids from Saturn", and "Big Fang Theory" are a testament to.
The material on the 11 track, 44:01 minutes long album is generally well written, but it takes a few listens before the tracks start to stand out from each other. And even then it´s not exactly music featuring the most catchy hooks, and it´s in that department Vampire Squid could improve. Because there´s lots of potential here considering the high level musicianship, and the rather adventurous lyrics and atmosphere surrounding the release. "Nautilus World" is pretty well sounding production too, but it does lack an organic touch, and occasionally sounds a bit too artificial. Still "Nautilus World" is an interesting release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.