From Bandcamp, “As society crumbles, technology and government take over. Humans surrender their free will to a collective consciousness (the Hivemind) in pursuit of progress, but this ultimately leads to the loss of individuality, freedom, and humanity. The trilogy of albums outlines a dystopian journey of humanity’s downfall, rooted in themes of technological dominance, environmental collapse, and societal degradation. Across the albums, the story weaves through three key stages: the unraveling of human civilization, the rise of artificial intelligence, and finally, the desolation and extinction of life on Earth. The narrative explores humanity's self-destruction through its creations, whether through reckless environmental exploitation, political corruption, or the unchecked rise of technology. Each album represents a stage in this dystopian saga, moving from human-driven collapse to technological domination, and finally, to total extinction. Watch out for the eyes in the sky...

The album has nine songs, and “Biomechanical Horrors” is first. The sound that comes out of the gate is thick, with many different elements, including symphonic ones. It is powerful, stalwart, and dark, and the harsh vocals coat everything with a deep black slime. You can feel the sense of humanities loss at hands of machines. “Eye in the Sky” is a shorter song that focuses on that evil watcher looking down on earth, and the musical tones match the level of nefariousness that is has. “I Used to be Human” has a slower pace that is also quite ominous. Thick bass guitar notes compliment the riffs, and the harsh vocals are active signs of the complacency of humans in this process. “The System Shock” is low, heavy, and brutal, but not without some fleeting moments of melody. The harsh vocals hammer away at you like a wrecking ball, while the music finishes the job of pulverizing you into dust.

“The Perfect Host” reminds me of something out of the Sci Fi movie ALIEN. It’s symbolic for me, describing unwitting humans as the ideal vehicle for a technology take over due to their inherent apathy. Even the clean vocals drip with an ominous sense of the impending. “The Unraveling Array” features a good deal of prophetic spoken word hinting at the imminent downfall of humanity, with music that is switches gears from solemn to a deep anger. “Synapse the Hivemind” seems to be the turning point in the album, or the point to where all future courses have already been dictated. At times, the music reflects an unbridled rage, but also some cold melodies.  “Deracinated” means “uprooted from one's natural geographical, social, or cultural environment,” and it fits in quite well with the dark themes of the album. This song is brutal and rage infused. “Slaves to the Algorithm (Execute the Code)” is the final proverbial nail in our collective coffin. The tones are punishing, black, and there is a cold lifeless feeling amidst the raging fire of energy at times. The guitar work is exceptional.

Both the subject matter and the matching music brings up existential ponderings for me. As a species, why can’t we see our impending demise? Is it because of the very slow process of climate change? Is it because no one has asked why when it comes to technological advances? Is it because of the phenomenon called “learned helplessness.” In my opinion, it is all three forces bearing down on us at the same time, and most of us are too busy to even notice. The punishing music carries the burden of the impending demise on its shoulders throughout the album, and the message is received loud and clear.