From Lisboa, Portugal is technical death metal bad asses CRONAXIA. Having formed in 1997 and only releasing one E.P. "The Solution Above Continuity" in 2008, this may very well be the oldest band you've never heard of. It all makes sense as I reached the 2nd track of their latest release "Collapsing the Outer Structure" that will be released September 7th of 2018 via Lusitania Music. While the title track has a run time of two minutes, I was halfway into "Logarithmic Cavitation" and I was exhausted. CRONAXIA is the equivalent of going to Starbucks and ordering a Vente (large) cup and telling them to pour it to the top with nothing but the cappuccino with the highest content of caffeine and then insisting they give you 2 more as you guzzle down the first one. Then maybe your racing heart will come close to the speed these guys are playing at.

It's not just blasting beats and speed picking a couple of notes. As you will find with the 4th track "Dimension Ratio", it's actual technical mayhem. That may be an understatement. As I tried to dissect the track it was almost impossible. If you cut their timing in half, it would be technical death metal. Attempting to speed it up would just be impossible. Until now. Even the fastest of speed metal players have intermissions or transitions that slow down to allow a quick recovery of muscle fatigue. These guys don't. It is likely the most relentless playing I have ever heard. During "Continuous Signal" , was the first time I heard them let up, and that was even slightly. The guitarist was still tremolo picking his way down the scale and ended it by holding the note for maybe a 5-second rest before it all just picked right back up.

This is some concrete eating, brain skinning, never-ending run from a serial killer through a maze that begins at birth and ends at death. Even the lyrical content, despite years of listening to death metal and having a vast knowledge of medical terminology, mythology, psychology, and even writing composition, CRONAXIA are not only brilliant musicians but obviously highly intelligent. This is beyond thinking outside of the box or having some philosophical hypothesis about existence. I suddenly am overwhelmed by things I need to research in order to even form an opinion. Even as I struggle to paint a descriptive picture of what I am hearing, the only recurring thought is that CRONAXIA kinda pick up where Chuck Schuldiner (rest his soul) of DEATH left off, but advance even that level a few hundred times.

CRONAXIA are more persistent than a stalker, more relentless than a crime of passion over killer, and faster than YNGWIE MALMSTEEN or that guy from Colorado who played at 600BPM. Doing some digging I also learned that the delay in releasing an album despite having a 20-year history is due to burn out. Playing this technical and at breakneck speed, I can't imagine these guys doing any sort of world tour. CRONAXIA is structured brilliant madness. The vocal tone is likely the only simplistic thing about them. Deep, guttural, rolling growls. The rest of it, well, I need a nap. I'm drained. This has got to be the most intelligent, (I'm going to create a new genre here,) technical caffeine-core, death metal that has ever been made. Let me perfect the phrasing of my genre. Intelli-tech death-caff. Maybe I will stick with the technical caffeine core. Either way, "Collapsing the Outer Structure" will literally blow your mind with musical ability, the speed they do it, and the lyrical content. This is an amazing advancement in death metal.Overall: 10