Band:	Soreption
Album:	Engineering The Void
Style:	Technical death metal
Release date:	February 2014

01. Reveal The Unseen
02. The Nature Of Blight
03. Breaking The Great Narcissist
04. A Speech To Survival
05. Utopia
06. Monumental Burden
07. I Am You
08. Engineering The Void

When asked to name your favorite Swedish death metal bands, you'll likely end up listing a slew of oldschool bands from the '90s: Entombed or Dismember or Unleashed, to name a few. What if you were asked to think of something a little more contemporary?

That's where Soreption come into play. Firstly, it should be pointed out that tech-death is an often polarizing genre, one where the majority of bands are lauded by fans for their ingenuity and technical prowess just as they are lambasted by critics for their overly structured and clinical songwriting designed to show off the band members' skills rather than engage listeners. Secondly, it should also be pointed out that Soreption are no exception to the polarizing nature of the genre, as seen by the struggle between opposing groups of online users on various websites trying to reach a consensus about whether Deterioration of Minds is a masterpiece or something better suited for the inside of a trash can.

Regardless of where you stand on that front, you can at least expect more of the same from these Swedes on Engineering the Void, a mind-bending display of instrumental precision backed by some well-executed upbeat melodies and chunky, groovy riffs. The production is a little thin unfortunately, and, as a result, the album fails to live up to its potential as a monolothic tech-death release. The songs aren't written in a particularly brutal style to begin with, so without a more hearty production things sound a little flat. It still manages to hang with the best of them in terms of dynamic compositions and outstanding musicianship, but the atmosphere just comes across as stale. The guitars lack punch and the impressive drum work goes almost completely unnoticed as the vocals dominate the mix, which takes away from what would otherwise be an incredible collection of intense, crushing material.

Production quips aside, this is still a professional and mature sounding release, but it may only receive praise from those who listen more extensively to this sub-genre of death metal. If you're that person, who coincidentally is tired of waiting for more Swedish bands to start following in the footsteps of Spawn Of Possession, you should probably familiarize yourself with Engineering the Void.