Create user ‘tzp-repl’@’192.168.6.66’ identified by ‘######’; Grant replication slave on . to ‘tzp-repl’ @ ’192.168.6.66’; // At the apex of the fourth-level transhumanistic godhede, having ventured far beyond the threshold of a globally irreversible transformation, the proposed phantom extrasensorial lobe allows current gen minds a god-like level of multilayered cognition per tech-activated gear. While the ethos of “more” becomes deeper ingrained as sinister pathology per the altered human condition it cannot help but translate perfectly to the prophesied cybernetically enhanced mind which features at the centre of technical death metal’s ongoing existential crisis of relativism as inclining standards for machined precision creates unprecedented apathetic devolution today. In the process of exploring their most mechanized and synthesized exaggerations Los Angeles, California-based techno-utopic death metal quartet The Zenith Passage were both interrupted and inspired by pandemia, taking a step back from the sub-culture of coldly digital excess for an album which insists upon an at least half-corporeal form. After a seven year gap ‘Datalysium‘ feels far more of-the-moment than expected but certainly not fixated in place as the quartet approach the uppermost echelon of what classic progressive-isms can do to extend the life of the ever-flailing realm of technical death metal. A gloriously introverted tunnel of insight into futurist sci-fi fantasy on a celestial scale, this much anticipated sophomore full-length from the band feels distinctly pressurized from both ends, one seeking peace in organische personal singularity and the other seeking transcendence beyond the flesh, geared-up and jacked into the bigger-picture optics of tech which threatens to “solve” the problem of imperfect humanity.

The Zenith Passage formed circa 2012 between musician Justin McKinney, who acts as the main songwriter and guitarist for the band, and original vocalist Greg Hampton (ex-Muldrotha) who’d stuck with the band ’til a couple of years ago. The style which McKinney concerned himself with was initially somewhat more technical deathcore adjacent but nonetheless a mecha-tech death style, not exactly an evolution a la Fallujah but something that’d treaded into technical and progressive territory from the start. Finding a path where wandering Thordendal-esque leads (“The Axiom of Error”), insane right-hand control, and a pointed focus on the evolution of death metal grooves beyond 2005 or so surely comes from roots in everything from Meshuggah to Necrophagist (and especially ‘Noctambulant‘-era Spawn of Possession) but even back when their first EP (‘Cosmic Dissonance‘, 2013) released it was clear that the composer had closely studied the standards and practices of modern technical death metal/deathcore in conceiving each of their early releases and… he’d also notably joined the extremely popular tech-deathcore band The Faceless.

This made a lot of sense, I suppose, since folks’d heavily compared the early dynamic of The Zenith Passage‘s debut EP to ‘Planetary Duality‘ and of course this only intensified as the debut full-length (‘Solipsist‘, 2016) from the band leaned into said progressive death metal style, though I’d found their version more substantive and a highlight in a year that’d kinda dragged on for Unique Leader. I remember hitting “Dreamsphere” on my first listen back in the day and seeing an endpoint, a frayed set of wires that’d realized enough potential for a lifetime as they’d nailed something upper-tier, ridiculously polished though not entirely original. Does that mean ‘Datalysium‘ took several years because it would be bigger in scope, somehow more ambitious? Kinda, but not in the same way; McKinney walked away from an imploded The Faceless around 2018 and took some time off before developing a “symphonic” record which eventually took a backseat to the style developed on this record. From what I gather some of the material being developed with his previous gig was repurposed and contorted for each prospective work.

For the sake of piling the mentions of said band all in one general sector, two former The Faceless members, vocalist Derek Rydquist and exceptionally talented bassist Brandon Giffin, are clearly the right people to have grabbed for ‘Datalysium‘ and each contributes an amplified character to The Zenith Passage‘s sound. The high-speed algebraic crunch of McKinney‘s craft might not lean symphonic on this record but it definitely makes heightened use of keyboards and guitar synth to expand the video game OST level sci-fi cinema of the band and not only will this suit the heavier leans into classic prog-death muse (Giffin is a live member of Cynic) but this creates a work which gives me the ADHD-meds snorting rip of a band like Archspire as consistently as it deals in the resplendent sprawl of a group like Inanimate Existence, or, some of the more experimental The Artisan Era gigs. Clean vocals, modern prog metal busking, and dissonance in passing phrase lend a proper spaced-and-searching feeling to a record which is initially stacked with single-worthy cuts, groove oriented songs which impress with their speed and twisted riffs that resemble the peak tunefulness of tech-death as an adjunct to brutal death diction and deathcore-infused technique.

Tech uprising first, inhumane fallout second. — 2021 released single/video “Algorithmic Salvation” drops its pants in this regard, pulling a quick windmill to show off all the gear they’re sporting on this album in a succinct chunk as the band present their heaviest, most intricate chunking guitar work nearby fresh mastery of the floaty, spaced atmospheric prog upswing which eventually beings to dominate the experience. My guess is that this record was prepped for Unique Leader release and delayed per signage to Metal Blade since we’d waited another high count vinyl pressing sized wait beyond two singles (huge standout “Synaptic Depravation” being the second) for the album’s release. So, the hype is there for this record and those early singles showed some considerable urgency injected into the style of the band but they only hinted at the overall progression of the full listen which begins with a flashbang to the face but eventually concerns itself with synth-guided astral projection into the expanse. From needled-at hyper technical grooves which threaten tendonitis at glance to glowing exploration it’ll be clear enough from the first listen that ‘Datalysium‘ aims at a warp-speed indoctrination before the loose narrative of it all eventually works its hand atop the nuanced prog-metal chugging that frames the entirety of Side B. The two halves of the experience are distinct in this sense as song lengths stretch towards ~6-7 minutes each and the pace slows.

I’d initially felt the two halves of ‘Datalysium‘ were at odds but the progression of the listening experience is fluid, meaningfully applied. A certain sort of listener (probably holding their guitar right now, hasn’t bathed in a couple days) will be vacuum slurped into this damned record for its catchy display of technique but might easily lose interest in the more introspective float of the second half as the song lengths double and the engagement of the riffs halves. The cold but intricate grooves which showcase McKinney at his most torso-twisting level of robotic voicing are the connective sinew, the transcendence of synapse and sensation to the network, but the ease into the digital bath available is steady enough as it can be without needing another half hour to stew. In fact “Lexicontagion” fully goes there, if only for a minute, but it is clear we aren’t getting the jazz-fusion’d sidesteps and experimental excess of The Zenith Passage‘s debut meaning I didn’t get the / RE: “Dreamsphere” / moment form this record as I had in the throes of the previous. The trade-off is that the holistic effect of the listening experience engaged both lobes of the brain, juiced the thinking-feeling register and spaced out hard towards the end.

How does one resolve the hyper-analytical froth of the skull in response to machine-gunned grooves as they melt away into space? Contemplation of the (intentionally) ephemeral nature of life would be a reasonable start, if the meaninglessness of hard data cannot be mused upon and enjoyed by the enriched human mind and is merely left to shape it into corpo-submission then one man’s AI Elysium is just as quickly another’s nihilistic, far-flung future Terminator sequel. Wherever you go with it, it makes for an interesting enough thought while imbibing a higher tier example of what tech-death primacy still has to offer after being milked, datamined in all directions for the last two decades. The Zenith Passage do ultimately end up with a memorable sophomore release here, an intentional whorl of machine parts which give way to dismal sci-fi horrors and prog-metal revelation at their linear apex and it makes for an easily enjoyed modern tech-prog death metal record overall. It’d make sense to argue that there is nothing new under the sun (no pun intended) revealed here but for my own taste this record is decidedly mature in its presentation, relying less on the Adderall-spanked kitchen sink of today’s progressive deathcore and instead opting for a captivating tunnel away from the usual anxietous pastiche. A moderately high recommendation.

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