The first full lenght studio work by EXOTYPE was not exactly my cup of tea at first, nevertheless it contains some first-class music, but after a couple of spins, it starts to seduce me...

Set in a futuristic concept where the sound design is built around Extreme Metal screams complimented by a maelstrom of infectious down-tuned riffs, very catchy Melodic lines and addictive chorus, a thunderous groovy spirit, enhanced by an electronic pulsing dubstep approach, with synthetic soundscapes and a few staccato beat, grunt and syncopated Deathcore's harsh devastation ("Relentless" in duet with Ronnie Canizaro frontman from BORN OF OSIRIS) in close co-existence with cybernetic loops and a few Pop overtones ("Illuminate"). These are configured in a post-apocalyptic dystopian vision of a tyrannical & technological world, the pace and arrangement are similar to that controlled by a biomechanical musical entity which is portrayed perfectly by the labyrinthic complexity of some structures and in the inhumanity of the synchronized beats with a duality in the vocal identity. The density of keyboards layers is leading to a stylistic confusion, between the traditional alternate Metalcore's disharmony method and a more frantic focus with high-precision constancy in the playing.

As you already probably understand by now this quintet from Orlando, Florida which is in a Sci-Fi mood, denominated EXOTYPE, is at the far edge of modernity, defying both the rules but also the preconception of styles by adding new elements and mixing effortlessly, demonstrating at different level his borderless will. It merges the raging of Death Metal with the attractivity of Post-Harcore themes/Emo refrains and beneath a demanding atmosphere the asymmetric measures of Djent and a bunch of sporadic hyper sophisticated odd patterns but yet keeping a strong easy-listening appealing, thanks to a very competent lead singer.

The valid COHEED AND CAMBRIA comparison is more than obvious in the most commercial tracks like the great "Familiar" or "Prism" certainly coming from the vocal similarities with Claudio Sanchez but also because of the fine melodic strain also quite common in the sound of EXOTYPE enriched in subtle sonic details... Only low point the flow of vocals by Steven McCorry isn't on par with the quality of his other singing techniques... Same for the guest stars who provides those unconvincing grunts, in the course of the running order, like the head-banging Moombah-core "For Those Afraid To Speak" with hard-hitter "Rekoil"... But I'm definitely not an expert when it comes to rating Rap vocals.

Strongly recommended to the adventurous minds and to the open minded Metalheads... Engage warp drive, filthy electronica and crushing Metal!