ORIGIN — Entity (review)

Album · 2011 · Technical Death Metal

4/5 · 2018-12-23
UMUR

"Entity" is the 5th full-length studio album by US death metal act Origin. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in June 2011. It´s the successor to "Antithesis" from 2008. The band have gone from being a five-piece on "Antithesis (2008)" to a trio lineup on "Entity". Lead vocalist James Lee has left Origin and the lead vocals are now shared by guitarist Paul Ryan and bassist Mike Flores. Guitarist Jeremy Turner has also left, but hasn´t been replaced here, so "Entity" was recorded by the three-piece lineup Paul Ryan (vocals, guitars), Mike Flores (vocals, bass), and John Longstreth (drums).

The lineup changes doesn´t really affect Origin´s brutal technical death metal core sound. We´re still treated to über technical and brutal death metal of the highest class. There´s been a positive development in the songwriting department though. "Entity" is without competition the most varied and memorable release up until then by Origin. While their previous releases had a tendency to appear one-dimensional after just a few tracks, it seems that Origin have focused a lot of their efforts on the songwriting this time around as opposed to the earlier releases where the focus always seemed to be on the technical playing first and memorable songwriting second. "Antithesis" did show a more diverse approach to the band´s technical brutal death metal style but still lacked the final finesse in the songwriting to push it from great to excellent. While "Entity" isn´t a flawless release either, I´d say Origin have taken one more step in the right direction with this release.

While the tracks are still brutal as hell with both deep growling and higher pitched screaming vocals on top, the band have incorporated a lot of tempo changes, heavier mid-paced grooves, some (a few) melodic themes (check out the melodic solo that closes "Conceiving Death") and a bit of experimentation with ideas not regularly heard on brutal death metal releases. The latter especially appear on the track "Committed" which features a section that can be described as experimental alternative extreme metal. One of the tracks where the heavy mid-paced groove is most successfully incorporated is on "Saliga" and on "Swarm" too. The 6:52 minutes long "Saliga" is definitely one of the highlights of the album. The other lengthy track on the album "Consequence of Solution", the powerful "Swarm", and "Conceiving Death" are highlights too, while some of the shorter tracks almost pass by so quick that you´ll never know what hit you. 7 out of 11 tracks are shorter than 3 minutes and most of those 7 tracks are closer to the 2 minute mark than the 3 minute ditto.

The musicianship is outstanding. Technical precision drumming, razor sharp and fast paced riffing, shredding fretboard work, and rythmic variation are what you´ll get when listening to "Entity". If I have to point out a weak link it would be the vocals which are pretty standard for the genre. "Entity" could definitely have been even more interesting with a more unique sounding vocalist. It shouldn´t be interpreted as if the vocals aren´t well performed or doesn´t sound great, but a more distinct sounding vocalist would just have made the listening experience even more interesting. So while I still feel there is room for improvement, I think Origin have created a high quality album in "Entity". Definitely one of the death metal highlights of the year. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I´m not a huge fan of the first couple of albums, but the predecessor to this one and "Entity" are pretty great tech death albums. I haven´t listened to the last couple of albums yet, but that´ll happen soon.