In an appeal directly to the collective apathy of the polis we gather observational data on those driven by primitive internal perceptions toward antagonism, looking to the potential response to (and mutilation of) ones environs and the direct consequences upon the self. Leeds, England-based technical death metal quartet Cognizance begin with an examination of perception and environs, expanding the interest of their musical iteration with an extended release which emphasizes its themes in reaching for their own self-prescribed ideal. Building upon the well-girded extremes of their previous efforts ‘Phantazein‘ is a coldly contemplative and machined-out endeavor but not a complete automaton as these folks continue to set their own momentum.

Cognizance formed circa 2012 by way of vocalist Henry Pryce and guitarist Alex Baillie with clear intent to create modern technical death metal. Much like The Faceless and The Zenith Passage (among many others) the general first impression Cognizance‘s discography makes is that of a standardized act and especially as we approach their earliest recordings. Their music “fits in” depending on current and enduring sounds and reads the room well, a talented group of musicians able to achieve the high standards of technical death metal and the adjacent deathcore tinged spectrum. The first sign that their work might begin pushing into something beyond the usual deal was arguably their third EP (‘Illusory‘, 2016) wherein some melodic interest began to creep into their sound, eventually leading to that being the major point of interest on ‘Malignant Dominion‘ (2019), their first of two records for Prosthetic Records. It was a surprisingly short statement for a debut LP, a style which recalled shades of Anata and (early) Allegaeon, which served as a cumulative display of all that they’d gathered under their name in the previous seven years. It didn’t leave a huge dent in mind for my own taste, though I’d appreciated the well-curated and approachable qualities of their work such as the choice of album artwork and the overall production values.

Their sophomore full-length (‘Upheaval‘, 2021) followed a few years later and was markedly different, carrying a far more straight-forward thrashing tunnel vision that stuck to higher speed technical riffcraft with light drifts into progressive deathcore. While it was a similarly slick record that’d met a high professional standard it definitely felt like a step back from the dynamism developed for their debut and a kinda typical approach to tech-death. From my point of view ‘Phantazein‘ primarily serves to build upon that color-drained modus and strike harder at the two major extremes it explored rather than revert back to their original focus, essentially doubling down for a ~42 minute record which ups their technical showcase as much as it floats off into various tangents along the way. This makes for a somewhat belabored full listen with sells its dramatic performances well enough but never entirely nukes on the listener with anything all that profound beyond an interesting lyrical focus.

With 10¹² million options available to tech death attendees today the main trait that the form offers as impressive yet (often desperately) accessible guitar music is a guiding hand through said experience wherein the hyper-sped genetic expression of umpteenth generations ultimately yields to readable walk through telegraphed techniques. This is the major strength of ‘Phantazein‘ as a linear walk through plain language tech-death with some extra verbiage to lend some mystery to its machine-fed attack. The first half of the album steadily introduces their knack for deeply textured dual rhythmic voices in run-on extended phrase, less interested in pure percussive attack and more in creating a sluice of riff which pour continuously. “A Brain Dead Memoir” especially finds its pools of intrigue, breaks to stave the flow of ideas in some manner of implied contemplative movement. Momentum and these stead-handed textures have long been the best point of Cognizance‘s own touch though they’ve never quite escaped the tendency for sweaty Fallujah-isms when the moment calls for spaced out or surreal mode, they’re not quite as exaggerative as say Inanimate Existence in regard of generating atmosphere, though, and we get a quasi-progressive feeling as “Chiseled in Stone” follows up with a similar song structure and more typified endpoint.

Vocals are set somewhat low in the overall space considered for ‘Phantazein‘ with the overall ringing register of the guitar layers just barely overtaking their presence as the driving force of each song, as is to be expected of technical death metal. Drums are staggered in volume but not enough to interrupt their precision and immediate presence which has a sort of fisheye-spread wrap around the ear that leaves very little room for the otherwise clean and distant step of the bass guitar to spark any real interest. As we land upon one of my favorite pieces on the album “Futureless Horizon” and its showcase of softer-edged runs, swerving melodic motif explored and humming layers of ethereal guitar effects these choices make a lot more sense in allowing Cognizance‘s many moving parts to flourish in some manner of harmony though it does leave me pining for the off-kilter, unrefined eras of tech-death wherein character might’ve arrived upon a less considered or imbalanced render. In fact this leads us to the heart of my issue with ‘Phantazein‘ as a third full-length in that it doesn’t smack of strong statement or refreshed personae just yet as we approach some of the more tumultuous and finessed pieces (“Shock Heuristics”) on the second half of the album and get a bit of prog-death shred as the main point of interest.

The occasional swell of keyboards/synth amidst punctuative riffs set in curious swerving time lend a rousing dramatism to “Broadcast of the Gods”, the point on the album beyond “Futureless Horizon” where my mind would most often re-engage with their simulation and thankfully not miss the more active peak of the experience per “In Verses Unspoken”, consequently a piece with more of a melodic flair to its approach. I’d always figured their sound was headed in more of a Psycroptic direction and this songs suggests why their first album caught more interest per my own taste. When reaching this peaking point of interest and re-examining the full listen multiple times I’d found myself waiting for the album to arrive upon some manner of illustrative peak, or, some clever point of construction to reveal itself but the minutiae of ‘Phantazein‘ ultimately served as more of a backdrop to the themes it explores. Completing this thought seems to be the main reason the album goes on ten minutes longer than past releases.

Though I don’t think ‘Phantazein‘ will stick in mind in the long run it has done a fine job of adding to the oeuvre suggested by ‘Upheaval‘ and makes a strong case for a band/project which has always been set at a high professional standard. Cognizance‘s approach to songcraft doesn’t stand out too remarkably for my own taste though I can’t deny their notably skillful, tasteful even, presentation which remains remarkable in its compelling enough immerse throughout the full listen though I would question the long-term substantive value of the experience. If you are resolutely focused on tech-death as a main point of interest this album should rightfully appear as an important early year event, for everyone else it will likely serve as an above-average experience well worth checking into.

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