Band:	Hannes Grossmann
Album:	To Where The Light Retreats
Style:	Progressive death metal, Technical death metal
Release date:	June 2021

01. The Great Designer
02. The Sun Eaters
03. The Symbolic Nature Of Terms
04. In The Glacier's Eye
05. Dhaulagiri
06. Death And The Vast Nothing
07. The Fountain
08. Memento

I have already stated in this review that extreme progressive metal is stealing the show in 2021. Hannes Grossmann's latest LP further confirms that statement.

In case you haven't heard his name before (really now?), Hannes Grossmann is a German drummer, music composer, engineer and producer who first made his name in the metal scene by playing drums on Necrophagist's acclaimed album, Epitaph. He has been a member of Obscura and is currently playing with bands like Alkaloid, Howling Sycamore, Blotted Science, and Triptykon. Hannes Grossmann is his solo project and To Where The Light Retreats is his fourth LP.

For this album, Hannes recruited his Alkaloid bandmates, bassist Linus Klausenitzer (ex-Obscura) and guitarist Danny Tunker (ex-Aborted, ex-God Dethroned), while Christian Münzner (who recently rejoined Obscura) also provided some solos. Vocals were handled by Dark Fortress and Triptykon member V. Santura. So yeah, there is quite some talent in the line-up but are the songs any good?

Understandably, there is much Alkaloid to be heard throughout the album but there are differences too. The opening track, "The Great Designer", was a bit of a surprise for me, being an aggressive and thrashy song with its intro riff reminiscing Metallica's "Blackened". Then, "The Sun Eaters" is a melodic death metal affair bringing to mind old In Flames, while "In The Glacier's Eye" shows some fondness for black metal. To Where The Light Retreats is generally a pretty melodic album but it does have its super heavy moments too; the opening chug of "Death And The Vast Nothing", for example, is quite the bulldozer. While there is some diversity among the compositions, "The Fountain" is my favourite song on here because it deviates a lot from what the rest of them do. It slows down the pace, focuses on atmosphere, and features very beautiful clean sections and delicious melodies. I hear some Cynic in it too and I would have liked more songs in this vein on the album.

As far as performances go, the musicians are praise-worthy and the production allows space for all of them, even though it's a bit too polished. This is expected though for a release of this style and I must say that I liked how the lead guitar is being treated in the mix. A minor gripe I have is the vocals; they are not bad by any means, they just feel to me that they are there because the songs needed vocals and not to offer any additional value or texture. That said, the clean ones on "Death And The Vast Nothing" and on "The Fountain" are a nice touch.

The impression one gets from the album is that a group of talented musicians got together to perform songs without resorting to wankery. The intricate leads are appropriately spaced out and give room for memorable riffs, groove, and hooks. There is not much of that chaotic element that tech death is famous for and, while the songwriting is progressive and creative, the album sounds cohesive and very well orchestrated.

Fans of both extreme and progressive metal, waste no time; make your way To Where The Light Retreats and you won't be disappointed.

"The vast nothing
Portal into emptiness
Everlasting fire
Everlasting death"