Albums That Will #$@&%! Your Face Off in 2015: Irreversible Mechanism, Infinite Fields*

January 13th, 2015 at 4:30pm
Dave Mustein

Irreversible Mechanism
Infinite Fields
Blood Music
Release date: TBA, early 2015

On December 22nd, Belorussian newbies Irreversible Mechanism self-released their debut album Infinite Fields on Bandcamp. Twelve hours later, the stream disappeared: Finnish label Blood Music signed the band after hearing just one song, and set the album for physical release later in 2015. It’s not entirely surprising, considering that ex-The Faceless drummer Lyle Cooper laid down all of the studio work for the album. That endorsement alone should tip you off as to the kind of metal Irreversible Mechanism are working with. Think The Faceless at war with Spawn of Possession and Oracles-era Fleshgod Apocalypse, with dense clusters of notes navigating elaborate symphonic passages. Irreversible Mechanism pair simple structures with mind-boggling technicality in a way that’s compelling but never goes totally over the top, as occurs all too often in tech-death these days. The band may be cold, but they’re not soulless – wistful, triumphant melodies work their way into the mix, lending the album a distinctly European affect. It’s grandiose, emotional, and, of course, technical, impressive in both its composition and its execution. Albums with this many notes often compromise their heaviness, but Irreversible Mechanism keep it br00tal with tooth-grinding triplets and wide expanses of blackened blast beats.

You can stream the band’s first single, “The Betrayer of Time,” at the YouTube link below. It’s loaded with wildly expressive chords, hooks catchier than HPV, and a drawn-out, reverb-drenched solo that would make Malmsteen wet with envy. It might be a little early to peg this one as the best tech-death album of the year, but Infinite Fields seems to have found something special here. The album features production by Sami Raatikainen of Necrophagist and cover art by Par Olofsson. Blood Music haven’t specified a physical release date yet other than “early 2015,” but hopefully we’ll be hearing more soon.