ANOMALY unleashes annihilation on a cosmic scale with their newly released album 'Planet Storm".  A showcase of technical prowess and songwriting capability this album definitely took me by surprise.  The excellent use of keys to fill in textures and add subharmonic context is astounding and a unique feature not commonly found within the tech death genre. The album starts with the introductory track "Zero Gravity",  a sample of a blast off sequence with some synth pads pulsing behind it.  It has a very eerie feeling to it and sets the scene for the heavily syncopated tech riff that soon follows in the song "A Gift from Theia".

After a bit of shreddy licks a verse comes in with some intense vocals and haunting melodic arpeggios played on the keys.  It's a high intensity song with the only reprieve from the breakneck pace being parts which go from fast as hell to just normal fast.  Being a guitarist with a need for speed it is right up my alley, however their technical skills do well to not overshadow the feelings of the song, something that becomes a hard balancing act when your desire to flaunt ability overwhelms the music.  I feel ANOMALY has struck the sweet spot when it comes to this dilemma in regards to technically complex extreme music. My favorite track of the album is "Caught in the Ergosphere".

This absolutely epic seven and a half minute song takes you on a wild ride of tremolo picks,  palm mutes, blazing solos and unearthly screams sure to give you enough velocity to escape the event horizon which looms in the distance.  There's a lot of dynamics with sections going from warp speed to a groovy slower beat with beautifully layered lead guitars,  lead keys and sweet and sultry bass lines to accompany them.  The second half of the song they do the whole round robin deal with each member shining in their own right sequentially.  I just love when bands do that because it shows that they recognize their egos come second to the band as a whole and each member has their own unique talents which take them all to the next level. Another banger on the album is "Subterranean Worlds".

It starts with some over the drawn out and rhythmic power chords with some tech riffs backing and slowly transforms until the tech riffs are the most prominent.  I especially like the vocals on this track and it would be really cool to see Neil Tidquist performing this in a live setting while simultaneously playing his guitar.  The solo is a tasteful selection of awesome licks and leads right back into a groovy almost Death style section.  The melodic layering of this song is just superb and is very polyphonic and Baroque inspired to me. "Planet Storm"  is a solid tech death masterpiece and it makes me very excited and hopeful for all the bands in the genre making such awesome music.

You simply cannot overlook this album if you consider yourself a fan of tech or melodic death metal at all.  ANOMALY has really outdone themselves with this one and I'm eager to hear more of what they have to offer us in the future!