SPIRITUAL DECEPTION hailing from Milan, Italy were formed in 2016. They are a Technical Brutal Death Metal band and "Oxymoron" is the band's third EP. It was mixed and mastered by Andrea Oriani at Italian Blue House Studio. All orchestrations were arranged by Giacomo Savina at Black Alley Studio. "Oxymoron" is an independent release and it has a length of about 22 minutes. There is no official video release so far.

After some line-up changes in recent years with, most notably, Mirco Frontini assuming vocal duties from co-founding member Luca Zanlorenzi, SPIRITUAL DECEPTION resume business where they stopped with their last EP. The band has never been just another Technical Brutal Death Metal band, they are different and "Oxymoron" is different. SPIRITUAL DECEPTION smartly combine the technical brutal aspects with orchestration and atmosphere, something that is really rare in this subgenre. The listener who is not used to that, will need some time to adjust and 20 minutes playing time may just be enough for that. A second aspect of "Oxymoron" is the conceptual approach, which especially drives the middle part of the EP. According to the band, it is a concept of dualism or perhaps more precisely about opposing elements: light and darkness, good and evil, black and white. To me, this is often reflected in their sound when the orchestral elements are introduced.

The opening track "Hidden In Consciousness" starts with the common technical guitar riffing, the blast-beats, the blistering pace, and the brutal deep growls, however, it does not take long that choral singing is introduced, often in an asymmetric and distorted way to the guitar riffing and the Metal vocals. It gives the track a grim atmosphere. At the end of the track, the growls and the choral perform in harmony.

"Captatio Benevolentiae" is a highlight in terms of aggressiveness, darkness, guitar riffing, and drumming. The lead guitar solo is not overly technical; it comes straight to the point. The choral continues to provide atmosphere and there is an extra element: the piano which sounds as it had been thrown randomly into the mix at times. "Captatio Benevolentiae" is a five minutes' piece of excellent atmospheric and brutal sound. "Oxymoron" is an instrumental where the piano plays the dominating role, first as solo, then accompanied by the guitars and drums. It transitions into "Damnatio Memoriae", another brutal and doom-laden track intensified by the choral and the piano. The track is structurally fairly complex, with changes in speed, many twists, an excellent lead guitar solo, and lots of blast-beat attacks. Towards the end, there are a few atmospheric Black Metal vibes. All three tracks "Captatio Benevolentiae", "Oxymoron", and "Damnatio Memoriae" belong together conceptually and musically. The final song "Serpent's Speech" includes direct and heavy guitar riffs, a lot of double-bass drums, excellent lead guitars, and a few variations in the growling vocals including a couple of screams. The choral is still present but compared the middle part of the EP not as dominant, and consequently, the track is a bit less atmospheric which is good for a change.

"Oxymoron" is a very good piece of atmospheric Technical Brutal Death Metal. It is based on a smart concept which is rare for an EP of 20 minutes' length. The EP has a lot of strong moments and the symbiosis of Technical Brutal Death Metal and orchestration works very well. SPIRITUAL DECEPTION have progressed in both, their Death Metal sound and in their songwriting. The only flaw, if at all, is that "Oxymoron" is "only" an EP. I believe it is more than time for SPIRITUAL DECEPTION to release a full-length album. "Oxymoron" is very well produced. SPIRITUAL DECEPTION have shown what they are capable of and every fan of Technical Brutal Death Metal should enjoy "Oxymoron" and wait until SPIRITUAL DECEPTION go the next step in their career.