Seeded by celestial cataclysm and evolved in meta-psychic union the collective primordial will of a long lost precursor race now grasps the collective minds of Venice, Italy-based progressive death metal quartet MISCREANCE into bizarre agglomerative hallucination for this sophomore full-length album. On their voyage to unearth a history lost to time ‘Reminiscence‘ retains the hard-snapping ‘old school’ progressive death/technical thrash core of their sound while leaning heavier into the former, achieving a familiar sound within densely structured, ranting movement. Between the retro-futuristic sci-fi meditation at hand and the old-meets-new fusion of their work the band do a fine job of extending their original thought beyond classicism unto distinction without losing the plot.

Formed under the name Atomic Massacre in 2013 the greater trajectory of Miscreance has featured a natural evolution from admirable classic thrash metal obsession toward ‘old school’ technical and progressive death-thrashing style. Their initial half-decade locus was crossed between fanaticism of ye ancient standards and the spastic, rasping updates afforded thrash post-‘Black Future‘ popularity to some degree but by the time they’d released their first demo (‘From Awareness to Creation‘, 2018) under the new name it was a clear pivot in authorship. You’ll find some elaborate musing upon the band’s style, placement in the auld prog-death spheres of influence per my review of their debut LP (‘Convergence‘, 2022) where their travels directly recalled the spiritus of early Atheist, Sadus, Obliveon and the ilk. It was a surprising record in the sense that it’d been purely ‘old school’ in interpretation, nothing wildly original but a forward-sighted entrenchment in the old ways, well worthy of hitting #43 on my Top 100 Albums of the Year.

In the years between Miscreance have onboarded new bassist Jean-Claude Rossignol and tested their work on the road and as such we find skill boost to the band’s apparatus within the more diverse, complex and oft experimentally textured ‘Reminiscence‘. They haven’t gone full-on ‘Elements‘ here nor have they pushed into the prog levels of late 90’s Sadist but perhaps land mechanically closer to something like ‘Spheres‘, ‘Symbolic‘ or even ‘A Vision of Misery‘ depending on the song, otherwise expect a follow-up to ‘Convergence‘ rather than a total mutation. Some of these observations are admittedly superficial on my part as vocalist/drummer Andrea Feltrin takes on even more of a Van Drunen-esque timbre and certain songs speak to the DiGiorgio affected part of my brain but any fan of post-’91 Death should feel it on “Symbiosis” and “Synaptic Cortex Dissection” at the very least.

Album opener “Trait d’Union” sets this second cycle from Miscreance somewhere in between the adventurous vignettes of Species and the more progressive expansion of labelmates Horrendous post-2015, quickly digging and darting through several quickly pivoted, rambling events. Beyond the virtuosic clangor of the bass guitar representation here the harmonized vocals which kick in past the ~3:30 minute mark readily showcase some of the skill and vision these folks’ve devised in the interim. The full press into the tunneling “Vision” beyond that point offers a glimpse of the flow available piece-to-piece here while declarative vocals and effects generate a sort of spastic mania around scrambling leads and quickly daggered out riff progressions. The full effect is myriad to start but still manages to signal something like the ‘Unquestionable Presence‘ type aura that’d likewise fed the band’s debut.

The machined hand of Miscreance presses harder into elastically shot rhythmus within the next few pieces wherein “Scalp Ceremony” offers a short shock of thrashing and ranting mill, leaning into just enough repetition for the piece to stick. They do so while offering a first glimpse of the adornment available to the full listen of ‘Reminiscence‘ where a hit of bongo drums offers foreshadowing for berimbau (“Symbiosis”), digeridoo and more to surface later on. The band suggest these “tribal” instruments tie in with the lyrical theme of the record which is vaguely suggested as a collective hallucination, a trip through futurist-past where a lost album from a neural-net connected primordial extraterrestrial race detailed the failings of their own primal nature.

In passing toward Side B the full listen becomes all the more linear, locked into its total conversation and less compelling when analyzed piecemeal. The duo of “Oracle’s Rift” and “The Moaning Hill” do a lot to flesh out the experience but the former is the point where the momentum of their virtuosic run-crazed movement begins to waffle and wane. The latter kicks us into the second half more successfully but it is the final ~three songs which make up for the sagging energy of the mid-point passage; The aforementioned “Symbiosis” is key reprisal here, a particularly representative track which showcases both the traditional, the experimental and the lush laxity of moderne prog-death all in one and this is the ‘new’ Miscreance by my measure. “Zenith of the Dying Sun” is probably my favorite song of the lot otherwise bar-for-bar but none of these songs carry as much weight as they do when enjoyed as a total glom in the assigned order. Per my experience ‘Reminiscence‘ makes the most sense as an all in one sitting kind of record.

While it doesn’t invoke the classics of the prog-death sub-genre outright cover art licensed from Iranian artist Mona Shiraz reflects the instinctive threads of life which run through many of her works, depicting a sort of neuronal reconnection under the title Reminiscing. It is unique image for a metal album cover and an evocation fitting for the organic, flagella-rich depth of ‘Reminiscence‘. The choice of cover here speaks to something genuinely human and sentimental in an era of soulless AI generated art, a bold and meaningful choice from Miscreance which won’t please everyone but speaks to a sound ethos nonetheless.

Production values applied to ‘Reminiscence‘ are similarly intimate if not bombastic in their consideration for the band’s 90’s death-built framework, one of many symptoms of curation which splits the difference between convincing fandom but also some manner of aspiration. The total package here suggests Miscreance are resonating at a prime point of capability but also only just now beginning to flex their own way through conceptual work and characterization. The result is an above-average stargazing progressive death metal album which is yet well-attuned to the origins of the niche. A high recommendation.

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