IMMORTAL BIRD is a Black/Thrash/Sludge/Grind band from Chicago, Illinois.  "Thrive On Neglect" is their second full length album; they also have two EP s under their belts. IMMORTAL BIRD mixes a lot of different sounds on this album but not any one style sticks out to me.  As such, the album finds a comfortable pace with a wide variety that will appeal to Metal fans, regardless of their favorite sub genres. The opening track, "Anger Breeds Contempt," begins with a nice solid groove but it quickly translates into Death Metal. Interesting enough, vocalist Rae is just as versatile as the music, switching up her growls and screams to go with the music.  During the groove portion of the song, her Death vocals were higher pitched and sounded like a heavier version of Angela era ARCH ENEMY but as the song gets heavier, the lower and brutal her growls go.

John shines on the tracks middle portion which throws in some lighter, cleaner textures to give the song a slight Prog touch. "Vestigial Warnings," is a roaring track with the drums being especially strong and the guitars alternating between quick bursts of brutality and clean melodies.  The track sounds a bit creepy and disturbing when it slows down and the Death growls really go a long way to cement this-RAE's voice is really one of the better ones I've heard in Extreme Metal this year.

"Solace In Dead Structures," is one of the best tracks on the album; the pacing is very methodical and somewhat unnerving to the ears.   The way it builds up to the explosion at 1:40 of dissonant riffs, hammering drums, and Death screams shows the power and force behind this band when they are firing on all cylinders. "Stumbling Toward Catharsis," is the perfect way to end the album because it encompasses everything this album is about.  The notes crawl thru a murky Sludge before a dissonant clean passage bridges the gap to the harrowing heavier parts of the song. A strong finish to the album, for sure.

Although I can't say this album blew me away, I definitely enjoyed it all the way through and it is safe to say they found another fan with me.  For someone looking to get into the more extreme side of Metal, you could do a lot worse than picking up this album.