Infinite Earths - "Act 1. Into the Void"

September 28, 2016

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There was a period of time, roughly between the release of Necrophagist’s Onset of Putrefaction in 1999 and The faceless releasing Planetary Duality in 2008, when death metal informed by classical guitar techniques provided a space where musicians could experiment with diverse and unusual styles of music within a metal context and still sell a few records. Jazz fusion, funk, Beethoven, Spanish folk and flamenco normally sit yards apart from one another at your local record store, but during that decade it wasn’t uncommon to find whole sections of each of those genres reproduced very faithfully on a a record from Willowtip or Prosthetic records.

While that movement did lead to the rediscovery and temporary reunions of bands like Atheist and Cynic, not to mention an overdue celebration of the latter Death records, it hasn’t produced that many bands which fascinated me as much as those rediscovered groups. It’s a tall order to ask a new band to stand up to Paul Masvidal’s standard, to be sure.

Infinite Earths perform in that style and make me want to hear more of it. They’re not the only recent band to do so – Daesin and the too-overlooked Alkaloid also come to mind – but their upcoming EP, Into the Void keeps playing on repeat in my room. Part of the reason I enjoy it so much is because this style probably works better as an EP. Less music means less ear exhaustion, but also more opportunities to play the release and appreciate what the band is doing.

Nothing on Into the Void sounds contrived. When the band goes fully acoustic on “Act 4. The Whirling Doorway”, I never think they’re doing so just to put a check-mark next to a list of influences. Then again, maybe I’m just a sucker for Black Sabbath references. Decide for yourself below with the first song from that EP.

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