EPs are an oddity as their prime directive is to be a tease, a title card for something far more grand just beyond the horizon and this is exactly what "Conspiranoic" does. REPTILIUM is as equally an odd band to release such material as their prime directives-according to the about section of their Facebook-is to unite bands of similar style to work together in order to form a Metal movement such that the bands and the scene within the city of Quito gain recognition at a national level. Without doubt their end goal is distinct and admirable, just listening to the EP one would never assume such a benevolent agenda.

The EP opens up with an atmospheric introduction coupled with an interviewer asking "So what are you doing here, now?" To which an alien replies, "Observing." "Hannu Ae Kondras" strikes hard completely detracting from the airy introduction and lays into the listener brutal drums and shrilled vocals themselves sounding as if they've come from some other worldly being. "Goat" commences with a guttural voicing before the band joins wherein the guitars quickly transition into an odd staccato riff focused in the left channel before filling the soundspace. "Viral Combustion" begins-just like the others-in an odd and clever matter, with a quote from the 1999 the Mummy where Imhotep rewards Beni for his (incomplete) resurrection. The song likens a global pandemic to the uncovering of booby traps within an Egyptian tomb. The EP ends on the track "Just a Machine" which itself contains quotes from the movie Automata.

The guitars are mixed perfectly and their tones balance well the guttural and shrill vocals. Unfortunately the drums almost sound like plastic, though the performance is met with great skill. My favorite part of this EP is a weird oddity that doesn't really exist in most other EPs or Albums that I'm familiar with, such that some way through the recording, mixing, mastering, or maybe even the writing of the songs. The EP creates the sensation of listening to a live band, even my favorite LPs from my favorite artists don't have this effect, and it is truly an odd and amazing quality that this EP possesses.

"Conspiranoic" contains a large soundscape compressed within the shortened walls of 4 tracks, but what it does get right it does exceptionally well. The lyrics are the strong point of the album and deal with the complexities of the human condition paired with religious dogma, persecution, and global annihilation. Whilst the EP is clever and well strung its tracking is not meant for everyone as it falls more into the vein of Brutal Death Metal, though fans of the genre might well find themselves a new band to follow.