As much of a fan of metal I like to think I am, I never quite got into technical death metal as much as a (perceived) 'true Metalhead' should. In honesty, I don't extend much past NILE or DEMILICH. Therefore, discovering new Tech-Death can prove to be quite a refreshing, or at the very least, surprising, experience. Boston (US) Death Metallers ZEALOTRY are a new, fresh face on the (hopefully not for long) death metal underground and have recently released their full length, "The Charnel Expanse". Being only 8 tracks long, it makes up for this with a couple of long, brutal and technical ear-benders.

"Avatars of Contempt" is the first of these two lengthy endeavors and also the first track to detonate the album. Now, I believe that this is what Technical Death Metal should sound like; a raw, un-polished, un-fancied production quality, combined with a technical mastery of each and every instrument in the band, played to their full extent to portray the band's musical vision. The track itself is diverse in arrangement and dynamics; at times brutal, but at other times melodic and majestic, as far as extreme metal goes. Hell, this song, this band, appears to push boundaries of extreme Metal. You are most certainly not going to be bored. "Blighted" exudes an atmosphere highly reminiscent of early BEHEMOTH, when they were just starting to explore blackened Death Metal with their "Satanica" release; a most welcome addition to the tracklist, for nostalgia's sake.

The album's title track feels a lot more adventurous and dynamically progressive than anything else found on the album, with unconventional, yet uncannily effective rhythmic and melodic progressions, and a certain 'epic' flair to the vocal expressions. Overall, an incredibly strong song, and an extremely devilish solo that sounds like it came out of Nergal's own axe. "The Unmaking" is the final track on the album, and the second of the two lengthy pieces. It opens with a discordant and foreboding atmospheric synth which is blown out of the way by an onslaught of tremolo and blast beat. Generically speaking, this track, in many parts, errs closer to the musical region of black metal; another nod to the band's flair for diversification. Yet again I hear gorgeous melodic nods from the guitars towards BEHEMOTH; deliberate or not, the leads on this track, hell, this album, are an effective blend between chaotic, devilish and majestic.

An extremely ambitious idea has worked out well for ZEALOTRY in the form of an expertly crafted album. I speak as if it is tailor made; each track is completely different, and there is something here for every kind of fan of extreme Metal.