BRILLIANT COLDNESS is an Ukrainian Technical Death Metal band formed in 1998, that has so far released only three records. "The Ultimate Dream. Plan B: Disposal Of Humanity" arrives 12 years after the band's sophomore release, 2009's "Poisoned Reality". This 11-track record clocks a couple minutes over an hour, making it a daunting experience, filled with its moments of brilliance.

The album is bookended by The Ultimate Dream, a two-parter. "The Ultimate Dream, Pt. 1" starts quite abruptly, with exhilarating intensity. Iven's deep growling anchors this deep into Brutal Death Metal tradition, even if words remain somewhat discernible. There is a bit of a mathy feel to the riff building, as well as lots of dissonance in the lead guitar work. Nasty bass runs keep things somewhat groovy amidst the chaos. An outstanding opener that puts the band's strengths up and front, presenting the sound of BRILLIANT COLDNESS and the record.

"The Moment Of Resistance" comes next, riding over the drum work, with more squeaking guitars and deep growls. It gets into chugging mode quite a few times, heavy and dense. A tad repetitive for a six-minute song, but the impeccable musicianship keeps things interesting still.

A powerful, almost Hardcore-ish intro, throws the listener into "The Top Of The Perish"; a sonic assault that goes quite brutal. Tasteful yet still dissonant soloing makes the most of the track's first half, while things get into groovier and proggier territory for the second half, with some playful counterpoint between the riffing and the rhythmic section. Kim even lays down some tribal-esque tom-tom work on the last minute of the song, keeping tension still, never fully resolved.

A bit of an early BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME feel "Individual Hell", up to "Colors"-era, with some bluesy, Hard Rock-ish melody lines and lead guitar work mixed with Technical Death Metal's brutality and complexity. Although it does not sound radically different from the previous tracks, it seems to break from the formula enough to bring in some fresh ideas. The lack of breaks from the formula is quite an issue with the record.

"The Crown Of Darkness" goes full Thrashy at the very start, bringing a much needed sense of urgency to keep things in flux. A bit Punkish for sure, before moving once again into more technically complex stuff. It fools around with time signature and tempo, even getting into softer, melodic territory, sitting halfway between PINK FLOYD and a METALLICA so-called "ballad". Certainly avoids repeating itself. Most of the track works around with four and six pulses, but finds way to make it sound interesting.

The funky "The Symphony Of The Running Away Life" is a technically impressive instrumental interlude that feels a tad too long being quite repetitive, especially at almost 5 minutes in length. It is a highlight for Mor's bass at least. Meanwhile, "Technogenic Illusion" begins with a gorgeous soft intro, tense and dark, with a menacing feel underneath. There seems to be a mix of 80's Thrash and 90's Technical Thrash influence in songwriting, even if things remain in Death Metal territory. It builds into a heavier middle section, with smooth and clean transitions. More focused than previous tracks but that is not a bad thing at all. The bluesy influences become apparent again on the final minutes, adding soul to the shredding.

And this is when the album begins to run out of steam for this reviewer. "Phantasm" is yet another break-neck speedy track with bluesy soloing that does not really justifies its five and a half-minute length, getting quite repetitive, retreading territory previously covered in the album and in the track itself. A similar issue plagues "Devilish Misanthropy", only cutting through the rut thanks to a driving triplet. The album is starting to overstay its welcome.

"Chameleon" falls pray of the same issues previous tracks showed. The main show seems to be the solos, and even there it feels like the band is just replaying themselves. Even if the songs are strong as standalone tracks, it feels like BRILLIANT COLDNESS have run out of ideas by this time in the record. Closer "The Ultimate Dream, Pt. 2" seems to be intent on following the formula yet again through its first half. Finally, it breaks from the spell around 2:30 going into proggier and melodic territory, ending in a soft jazzy coda, full-on CYNIC-mode. Sadly, it becomes too little, too late.

"The Ultimate Dream. Plan B: Disposal Of Humanity" is a bit of a frustrating album. Although it is clear that BRILLIANT COLDNESS are a talented quintet, capable of writing some interesting tracks and everyone knowing their way around their instruments, there is a bit of a lack of self-editing that ends up hurting what could have been a better, more focused album. Both an issue with the album's overall length and tracklisting and songs themselves it feels as if the band decided to throw every idea they had into the record, whether it was going to stick, or not. The album could have been three songs shorter at least. "The Moment Of Resistance", "The Symphony Of The Running Away Life" and "Phantasm" could have lasted half their runtime.

Overall, a promising new release from a more than capable band that falls short for unrestricted ambition. Maybe next time around they will keep things on the shorter end, or they will take some new risks and shake things up a bit more. For now, if you don't mind getting lost into a hour long Technical Death Metal assault, this is exactly what you are looking for.