I will be the first to admit, I do not know a great deal when it comes to Deathcore. But I have an open mind and I am always willing to try new things. I mean the similarities that come between all sub genres do make them all very similar, obviously bar the minor nuances and minutiae of the styles.

Today we have CRAFTING THE CONSPIRACY. A relatively young band, releasing their EP "The Cosmic Key Part II", a carry on from their 2019 release of "The Cosmic Key Part I". And I am eager to begin, so let's get stuck in. Straight away the artwork is eye grabbing, with images of knights engulfing the background as an individual is plunging his sword into the chest of a demonic appearing person.

Opening the album is "Prologue" and this is a fairly apt depiction of the purpose the track. With an epic and pronounced introduction building into ruthless riffs and an aggressive drum line full of blast beats and energy. "Autonomy Of Ascension" does not take the foot of the gas. With the same relentless pace and aggression, we are thrown into an aural world of organised chaos and aggression that all comes together well, the added vocal line from Josh is just another string to the bow of this impressive band, along with a rather delightful guitar lick toward the latter stages of the track.

The archetypical untiring and aggressive stylings continue to drive the record forwards, blast beats combined with hard and heavy riffs are the order of the day as we fly through the tracking at break neck speed through "Serenisis" and into "Equilibrium (Earthbound II)". As we reach the latter of these tracks there is a distinct styling shift with a slower and more stereotypically Melodic Death style, and what caught my eye, or ear, was a clean vocal break that just shone through like a beacon.

"The Cosmic Key I Aberration" comes flying back with that relentless energy that once more accelerates the music and injects a little bit of electricity into the listener. "The Cosmic Key II Polymerization" is an outstanding instrumental track that just goes to show the skills of all musicians involved combined with their depth of musical knowledge and understanding. "The Cosmic Key III Dream Sequence" brings everything together to close out the album in a sublime fashion.

Overall, I would say that this was a very impressive album. With examples of Death, Deathcore, Prog and Melodic Death coming to the fore throughout the album. Fans of any of these genres need to get their hands on this record!