Spectrum of Delusion

Esoteric Entity

Released 08/18/2017

 

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Tracklist:

Intro     

Beyond Affliction

Dead Weight

Illuminate Eradicate

Reverie

Ruler of Cruel

Unborn Tragedy

Mixotrophy

Timelines

 

Lineup

Douwe Negenman – Vocals
Nathan Bonkerk – Lead Guitar
Frank van Rijswijk – Rhythm Guitar
Jerry Kamer – Bass Guitar
Jeroen Mostert – Drums

Hey there everyone,  today I bring you the Netherland based technical death metal team Spectrum of Delusion and their recently released album Esoteric Entity.

Forged in 2013 by drummer Jeroen  and Nathan they built the band up from performing covers until Frank joined and then they began their journey into creating killer music. Now the interesting part of all this is they actually had another album written and ready back in 2014 however after reviewing everything they scrapped it because it didn’t adhere to their level of acceptable standards and their sound. A whole album with seven string guitars and a five string bass, scrapped because it wasn’t true to their core.  They set off to create something more pure to their sound and decided to put a fretless in the hands of Jerry and upon that brilliant idea, Douwe joined and everything came together to  get Esoteric Entity finished. This is the debut Album of Dutch Technical Deathmetal band Spectrum of Delusion.

The intro will take you for a melodic stroll into the music with very slight progression, and the only hint they give you is the bass only seconds before the intro ends and “Beyond Affliction” begins.  I am really digging the levels of all the instruments especially the bass.  It is right there and not hiding behind anyone; they deliver a nice simple guitar solo around the thirty-second mark before jumping into the verse with a blasting rhythm from the drums.  Damn this track is awesome, melodic, technical and has a great mix to it, what a great song to start the album with.  It really hooks the listener, especially with the bass, these guys did a killer job on this album.

Dead Weight

This track has a nice build up period lasting just shy of sixty seconds, but I really get hooked by their melodic and captivating sections with the instruments before the first verse begins.  The verse seems to sink the hooks in further.  They keep the song length around four and a half minutes long but I would say about two minutes of that is music without vocals. Nothing wrong with that though, showcasing the talent of all the musicians in the band is a great way to flex their muscles and give listeners like myself a solid idea of what we are working with here.

Illuminate, Eradicate

It has a much quicker set up, not much build up or progression before the first verse however they simply get right down to business this is one of my favorite tracks off the album, and yet it has some of the least instrumental sections of the album.  The song as a whole is very catchy, and the ability to really hear the bass is what draws me in the most.  Spectrum of Delusion is not one of those bands that has a killer guitarist, a drummer that can keep up and then the rest of the guys just fill in the blanks. No, each and every member of this band has talent worth the attention they get.  This song clocks in less than three minutes in length, but damn does it pack a mean punch.  I do wish it had a little more instrumental time however this is such an efficient track I respect the fact that they are able to hook me without the same tools as the previous tracks.  This is a track that has no filler, catchy with some tasty riffs, and still has a bit of a wow factor.

 

Reverie

This one seems to pick up almost the way Illuminate ends, it’s almost like “Reverie” should be a part of illuminate, it just follows up Illuminate so well. Tempo is nearly the same unit the first vocals are heard.  They slow the speed down for dramatic effect, and I find it to be effective right around the 1:36 mark Douwe adds another layer to that slowed down section, really emphasizing the vocals being held long.  This song is one of those songs where typically I hear it’s not as fast as the previous track. My mind begins to wander thinking that the song will just not keep my attention for long. That isn’t the case with this song, I did need to listen to it for a few spins. But the slowed down section grew on me, and it was all because of the vocals.  I went into this track not enjoying it as much, and then let it grow on me, and now I enjoy this song in a different light.

 

Ruler of Cruel

This song has a bit of an ominous buildup, but right around the :09 mark you can hear the bass hit a high note. And delivers two bars of that bass note, a few vocals and then back to that bass note. Jerry Kamer has taken my expectations of this album to a new level, but it’s the saxophone that has piqued my interest now.  Not many bands can pull off a cool album or a cool song and then also incorporate a saxophone into it and maintain the same level of heaviness. Cephalic Carnage, and WRVTH have been able to pull it off. But Spectrum takes things to a different level with the sound of the bass, then the saxophone and a jazzed up section in the middle of a heavy track.  Damn kudos to the guys for pulling it off and then also to Erwin Van Wieringen for playing the saxophone.  Which brings me to another item, session musicians don’t have to be guitarists or drummers they can be saxophonists that add another spicy level to some badass music.

 

Unborn Tragedy

This song really unearthed similarities to bands like Beyond Creation, and Necrophagist and I find myself really impressed by this album.  This song starts out slower than the others, and it has a bass filled melodic introduction that sets up the base layer of the song, and when that bass fades out the next section is up tempo and builds up that next layer in which the vocals are going to start, with a faster energy and a heavier attack.  The tempo changes several times in the song, and yet each transition is very fluid.  There is one section of the song I am not 100% sure I dig it or not.  But halfway through the song they have a section that is a bit repetitive and while it’s not sloppy, it’s not hooking me either. The saving grace for this track  is the drums and the bass.

 

Mixotrophy

The song begins with a quick set of blasts, and then a heavy bass line with a guitar over that making some sweet melodic build up. When the vocals start in, shit has gotten real at this point. The song heads into a fast paced tech death barrage of blasts and just when you have succumbed to that catchy section, they change time and direction slightly.  I am not sure what impresses me the most about this album, there are too many things to list. But I find with some bands too many changes can ruin it for the listener.  We want to be pulled in and stay with the song the whole time.  But with this track the changes are so subtle that they just flow into each other with very little set up for each transition.  They just flow right through the song.  from 3:10 to about 3:49 there are no vocals but a killer instrumental section. I love these instrumental sections Spectrum have added to some of the songs.  I find I enjoy these moments so much because the instruments all blend in well, there is no overshadowing, every instrument is clear, and it adds to the quality of the music.

 

Timelines

This is a great follow-up to Mixotrophy, because of the seamless transition from one track to the next.  This is really the only track I can say has some chugging coming from the guitars, the tone is a bit darker sounding to me, but the actual pace of the song and intensity is right around the same level. But I really absolutely dig the part at the :52 mark, where the vocals have an old school style to their delivery for just a few lines before the blast beats begin. The head movement starts to kick in and you are already hooked by the 1:10 mark. And the song has really only just gotten started. This track is the longest running track on the album but only by a second. The reason I bring that up is because there is so much packed into this song, and it really could have gone on longer. But Spectrum takes the last forty seconds of the song to finish the song out, but at the 5:15 mark they kick off a guitar solo and then fade out. Really leaving me wanting more to come out of my speakers.

 

 

All in all, this album kicks ass, this was my first time hearing Spectrum of Delusion, and I am glad I did. They remind me of a mix between Beyond Creation, Virvum, and Necrophagist.  A truly nice blend of melodic, yet technical/progressive death metal.

This album is great, the production, the balance of instruments to each other as well as the vocals. These guys don’t make up a band, they make up a team. A team that come together and don’t have any one member pulling the most weight through sound and musicianship. The intro track does a solid job getting the listener warmed up and then everything after flows perfectly.  This is an album you can hit play and leave all the controls alone.  Push play, listen, rock out, repeat.  The production of this album is well beyond expectations considering what these guys are asking for in price. Because who doesn’t have two dollars to spare for nine tracks ( eight and an introduction track)? I am digging this album, and I will be keeping my eye out for more from this badass bunch.  9.2/10 \m/

 

Check out the links below

https://www.instagram.com/spectrumofdelusion

https://spectrumofdelusion.bandcamp.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/SpectrumofDelusion

https://www.facebook.com/SpectrumofDelusion

 

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