Hailing from Sarasota, Florida, comes new Progressive Death Metal band TILL THE DIRT. Signed to a major record label, the band presents their debut full-length, titled “Outside the Spiral,” which has eleven songs. “Starring Role” is first. I don’t hear many Progressive elements…instead is seems to be a thick soup of Black and Death Metal melded together with some Nu Metal cadence in the vocals. It’s an odd combination. The title track is similar, although the band dials up some technical elements in the music.

“As It Seems” has a totally different sound at first, almost a proto-type Grunge sound, but it forays into much heavier and aggressive elements soon enough. The vocal cadence however really ruins the promising sound in the instruments. “Forest of Because” has another odd combination of aggressive music with patterned vocals. It’s sort of a “modern metal band” meets the traditional elements of the past, but I am not finding the sound to be very pleasing. “Insist and Demand” is a harrowing sound with machine gun drumming followed by another odd vocal cadence. It’s sort of like the music can’t decide where to go, and the band never fully commits to either style.

“Watch You Grow Old” is a little more put together but the divide between the two styles is growing larger. This song is more like what it would sound like growing old…horrible, and desperate. “Bring on the Gods” closes the album, and the band flexes a bit more muscle and musicianship, especially the bassist, and it is without a doubt the best song on the album. Overall, I can see why the band are signed to the biggest label in the Metal industry, because they clearly have talent, and they have found a unique style to land on, which is more than half the battle these days. But, the odd combination of sounds did not work well for me. It felt disjointed, and non-committal to me.