The many debates surrounding the many subgenres of Metal have always just flown over my head. After all, the focus should be on the music, and not on what new words we invent to call the style said music is played in. However, many insist on harping on these small details, forcing bands to be incredibly political about how they go about defining their sound. In some cases, the end result is a laughable mess of hyphens and slashes, but in other cases, the specificity of a band's sound is communicated effectively, giving more interesting bands the leverage they need to shine over more typical ones.

So when a band says their music is a blend of Djent, Industrial, Groove Metal and Experimental Metal, you better believe it. DEUMUSETH is the bold band in question - one of Malaysia's frontrunners in the Djent scene. Their first self-titled album has just hit the shelves and they offer exactly what they say they will, which in other words, can be described as a more mechanized and specialized form of Progressive Metal that borrows all of the heaviness of Death Metal but ditches the softer sounding melodic tinkering normally attributed to Progressive bands.

What this results in is a fest of brain-squelching, thunderous music that rhythmically never ever relents. The debate on whether Djent is a subgenre of Metal does not even apply here anymore, because DEUMUSETH's sound is so defined by their rhythmic virtuosity that their brand of Experimental or Progressive Metal is made perfect in its theory. And to cap it all off, the band complements the rhythmic intensity of their music with atmospheric synths, bringing the Industrial part of their music to light. The two styles really work together to bring about a sound that is musically relevant to this day and age. It sounds and feels futuristic but it doesn't wander off into some strange untraceable Trance-like path. It is heavy all the way and if you're the kind of masochistic Metalhead who likes to get a good ringing in your ears after blasting a record (face it - we all are) then this is the record for you.

One huge advantage DEUMUSETH has is the impressive range of vocalist Saravanan. You're not going to get any boring, monotonous growling or impressionistic whispering here. You'll get full on, in-your-face screams that interchange between high and low so smoothly that you can barely hear the transition. The crisp production of the record boosts this quality further and brings out the atmosphere of the record, and when the two come together, it can be rather hypnotic.

The fine Djentlemen (ha ha ha) of DEUMUSETH have found themselves in the privileged position of being one of the region's finer bands that play Djent or Experimental Metal. Stellar standout tracks such as "1939" and "Dark Resurgence" will sure as hell put DEUMUSETH on the map. To have the perfect DEUMUSETH experience however, one must catch them live. The first time I saw them onstage I had a horrible flu. 10 minutes later, I was cured. As Metalheads we all know that if the music is heavy enough, it can knock you out, and DEUMUSETH is one of those bands that conveys the energy of their music into their live performances exceptionally. And if you're curious what that energy is exactly, this record will show you.