ALKALOID — The Malkuth Grimoire (review)

ALKALOID — The Malkuth Grimoire album cover Album · 2015 · Technical Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"The Malkuth Grimoire" is the debut full-length studio album by German progressive/technical death metal act Alkaloid. The album was independently released in March 2015. Alkaloid was formed by drummer Hannes Grossmann in 2014 after leaving Obscura. In addition to Hannes Grossmann, the lineup features a string of prolific German (and one Dutch) musicians in Christian Münzner (guitars) Danny Tunker (guitars), Morean (vocals, guitars), and Linus Klausenitzer (bass). Some of the artists they´ve been or still are involved with include Obscura, Noneuclid, Aborted, Necrophagist, Dark Fortress, Spawn of Possession, and Blotted Science.

The above mentioned musicians and acts should give a good indication of the skills involved on this album and the technical level of playing featured on the material. And technique is definitely in the high seat throughout the album, but it´s not necessarily one of those tech metal albums, where atmosphere and good songwriting are sacrificed at the expense of technical noodling. It´s not the most atmospheric or emotionally intense release either though, so it lands a bit in the middle.

In addition to the technical/progressive death metal elements featured in the music, there are also quite a few nods toward progressive rock and even fusion. The vocals are both growling and clean. It´s not completely unlike listening to a much more progressive inclined Obscura. The reference to Obscura is especially strong when Alkaloid plays fast. The eclectic nature of the material makes it quite the challenging listen, and combined with the technical playing, and the often complex song structures, "The Malkuth Grimoire" is quite the busy album.

The album is well produced featuring a powerful, clear, and professional sounding production. It´s quite clinical sounding, but it suits the music well. So upon conclusion "The Malkuth Grimoire" is a high quality technical/progressive death metal album, and fans of the genre and artists like Obscura, Beyond Creation, and Augury should be able to enjoy this greatly, although it´s slightly more quirky and eclectic than most of the output by those artists. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Deviance Deathcore
ASHES INTO BLOOD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Equilibrium Atmospheric Sludge Metal
BESRA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tension Between Rot And Genesis Sludge Metal
ANTHESIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Recycle Brain Crust Punk
C.P.G
Buy this album from MMA partners
Cartography Of The Mind Deathcore
TETHERED
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Besra – Unsullied (Music Video)
BESRA
Bosh66· 8 hours ago
Tethered - Breathe (Official Video)
TETHERED
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Saltwound - Walking The Blade (OFFICIAL VISUALIZER)
SALTWOUND
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Saltwound - The Negative (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
SALTWOUND
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Saltwound - Drowning feat. Taylor Barber (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
SALTWOUND
Bosh66· 1 day ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed