siLLy puPPy
Hailing from Auburn, CA near the state capital city of Sacramento, DISMAL LAPSE is / was a technical death metal band that existed under the moniker Bled from 2001-07 before changing its name. This quintet of Chris Barnum [aka Chris Dann] (vocals, drums), Evan Gravatt (guitar), Corey Parks (bass) and Jason Brehm (bass) have so far released one EP “The Nameless Facless” which was released in 2008 and then this so far only full-length EON FRAGMENTATION which soon followed in 2009.
On “The Nameless Facless,” DISMAL LAPSE cranked out a short EP’s worth of high quality tech death metal that was raw and crude and emulated the old school style of the early 90s with a few technical touches stitched into the fabric. With EON FRAGMENTATION the band stepped up its game manyfold by not only exuding a more sophisticated approach in the technical departments but also by incorporating a more suitable production job that takes some aspects of the muddier tones heard on the EP and adds more polished elements that trade off.
EON FRAGMENTATION is one of those albums that instantly gets your attention if you are in the least bit interested in the technical section of the death metal aisle at your local extreme music supermarket. The band is exquisitely talented and tight delivering one hyperspeed labyrinthine riff after another that can bring many of the technical giants to mind such as, early Obscura, Suffocation, Opressor and newer techies like Augury, Gigan, Necrophagist, Abysmal Dawn or The Faceless. Add to that an overtly jazzy bass delivery from the likes of Athiest and and crushing pummelation of the drumming bombast and it’s easy to fall in love with this amazingly challenging tech death metal.
Two of the tracks, “U-235” and “Clipping The Wings Of Hope” are reworked from the EP only with a much better production and more convoluted technical mastery. While vocalist / drummer Chris Barnum is top of the line as far as his drumming skills go, his growly vocals are fairly standard for the genre which is what brings DISMAL LAPSE’s overall score down just a bit. The focus is on the technical rampaging virtuosity of the musicians and in the process EON FRAGMENTATION doesn’t really bring anything new to the world of tech death metal which has been an ever expanding club of adrenaline fueled technical wizardry.
While there are some short moments of contrast such as the jazzy break of the opener “Addicted To Tomorrow” and a melodic solo in “Divide And Devour” most of the album is an incessant technical speedfest that delivers a relentless brutality albeit in a rather zigzagging manner with staccato jitteriness and other odd time signature contributions. The sparsely laid out melodic guitar solos that bring Necrophagist to mind keep the album from falling into the trap of complete brutal abstraction and offer a pleasant respite through the bantering din.
In the end, DISMAL LAPSE is quite impressive when registering on the technical side of the equation but throughout the album’s 35 minute run really doesn’t deliver anything you haven’t heard before and often better which is why this band most likely didn’t make too dents in the tech death world when this album was released. The missing ingredients here are all on the creativity side and it’s too bad the band hasn’t released any new products because they were clearly on the verge of breaking into the big boys club.