Released October 19, 2018, via Seeing Red Records is ANTIVERSE and their second full length "Under the Regolith". Founded in 2013 and hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota these guys are faster than any stimulant. "Hallucigenia" has a nice long instrumental appetizer before the vocals begin like concrete skinning flesh. The first thing that grabbed me is how clean and crisp the audio quality is. I never had to struggle to figure out what was going on it, and it happens fast. The vocal style is similar to (early)DEATH, CYNIC and at times even SADUS. The music style is extremely busy. A lot of actual riffs, rather than chugs or fast picking a handful of notes. Imagine ICED EARTH or NEVERMORE but with thrashy vocals and sped up to Mach 3.

The thrill ride continues as I made my way into "Black Waves of Sorcery". While the speed and sync of it are gracious and cutthroat, I imagine the state of the pit and if the moshers can keep up. This sensory overload depicts every aspect of what captivates metalheads. It's fast, heavy, it has a dark undertone, the melody of the leads are mind blowing and are what influence the generation that is to follow. "Under the Regolith" serves up a fresh slab of beef better than a steakhouse. Its sultry, thick, and makes your mouth salivate as you tear into the first bite. What is mind blowing is how tight these guys are. Most musicians would need to play to a click track or cut milliseconds out in Pro Tools to sound this dead on.

ANTIVERSE has rolling kick drums that cycle like clockwork. Never late. The guitar sound is more clear than water. The screeching sustain of the lead guitar is stadium-worthy. The musicianship is at a veteran level. The creativity behind the riffs is a faster and darker version of a blender full of prog, power metal, and thrash metal. The low end has been mixed in to where I can't single it out, but if it wasn't there the sound would be more like a Burger King patty than a steak. ANTIVERSE is good. Damn good. The only issue is, every song is a continuation of the one before it. With such a brilliant group of obviously talented musicians, I am missing a little more diversity. That would separate them from being just another extreme metal band that is really good and catapult them into the total package status.

It's only their second release, so I can't expect it all at once. ANTIVERSE is great in the pocket and I I hope they take their amazing sound to heights we've never heard before.