THE MALKUTH GRIMOIRE

"The Malkuth Grimoire" is the debut full-length studio album by German progressive/technical death metal act Alkaloid. The album was independently released in March 2015. Alkaloid was formed by drummer Hannes Grossmann in 2014 after leaving Obscura. In addition to Hannes Grossmann, the lineup features a string of prolific German (and one Dutch) musicians in Christian M'nzner (guitars) Danny Tunker (guitars), Morean (vocals, guitars), and Linus Klausenitzer (bass). Some of the artists they've been or still are involved with include Obscura, Noneuclid, Aborted, Necrophagist, Dark Fortress, Spawn of Possession, and Blotted Science.

The above mentioned musicians and acts should give a good indication of the skills involved on this album and the technical level of playing featured on the material. And technique is definitely in the high seat throughout the album, but it's not necessarily one of those tech metal albums, where atmosphere and good songwriting are sacrificed at the expense of technical noodling. It's not the most atmospheric or emotionally intense release either though, so it lands a bit in the middle.

In addition to the technical/progressive death metal elements featured in the music, there are also quite a few nods toward progressive rock and even fusion. The vocals are both growling and clean. It's not completely unlike listening to a much more progressive inclined Obscura. The reference to Obscura is especially strong when Alkaloid plays fast. The eclectic nature of the material makes it quite the challenging listen, and combined with the technical playing, and the often complex song structures, "The Malkuth Grimoire" is quite the busy album.

The album is well produced featuring a powerful, clear, and professional sounding production. It's quite clinical sounding, but it suits the music well. So upon conclusion "The Malkuth Grimoire" is a high quality technical/progressive death metal album, and fans of the genre and artists like Obscura, Beyond Creation, and Augury should be able to enjoy this greatly, although it's slightly more quirky and eclectic than most of the output by those artists. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.