Full Album Stream: Obsolete – “Animate//Isolate”

This is how technical death metal should sound.

Obsolete, hailing from Minneapolis, has arrived with their debut album, Animate//Isolate. The band strikes that elusive course, spinning heads with technical ability and complexity, but keeping them banging with memorable moments and an engaging narrative structure.

Additionally, the band was wise not to overproduce the album. The guitars sound like guitars, avoiding the homogenized djenty tone that so many tech-death bands fell into in the last decade. And that snare sound is so raw that it gives the intricate drum work that rousing unhinged feeling only death metal can create. Regarding the recording process itself, the band notes that “We’re really excited to release this record. Fortunately we got all the instruments tracked before the lockdown and were able to use the time to get the vocals and mix to sound exactly the way we wanted.” Indeed, the vocals also have a raw quality that gives the music an energy often lost in other technical outfits.

With that, Decibel is pleased to premiere the album below. Animate//Isolate will arrive this Friday via Unspeakable Axe Records.