Upgraded to the point of fleshless panoptic monstrosity and weaponized against the system it main-brains, the god-machine at the heart of the crumbling future now dystopia illustrated on this second full-length album from Montreal, Québec-based technical death/thrash metal trio DISSIMULATOR quickly becomes the catalyst for total demise. ‘Artifice Dissolves‘ is an across the board upgrade to the band’s high-skill and high speed tech-thrash magnetism wherein deeper shades of early prog-death bleed into their thrust while production values eek slightly towards their appreciation for ‘ahead of their time’ heroes past. The total effect is appreciably mechanical at its hottest points of action but this time around they’ve reached for a more varietal overall progression on the stretch through for the sake of a better rounded experience.

Formed back in 2021 Dissimulator is a technical thrash metal side project from folks best known from their station in technical and/or progressive death metal bands Chthe’ilist, Sutrah and Beyond Creation among others. Their virtuosic talents shone via a brief two-song digital demo early on but’d been more crucially developed on their debut LP (‘Lower Form Resistance‘, 2024) which I’d reviewed favorably at the time. The structure of their approach to technical death/thrash style then-and-now has more in common with early 90’s groove inflected thrash and earliest prog-death wherein mentions of early Meshuggah, Cynic and Obliveon make sense though listeners will likely relate their sound to modern takes/techniques from bands like Revocation and Vektor at a glance.

‘Artifice Dissolves‘ carries on with some additional polish and extensively re-strung riffcraft but does not reinvent Dissimulator‘s core mechanism wherein a sort of quasi-‘old school’ tech-thrash tendency is given to modern hi-fi production values. Opener “Apophenic Rage”, to my ear, recalls the development of Invocator to some degree per the level of moshable groove inserted into manic death/thrashing riff drills but within the first minute drummer Philippe Boucher highlights a broader range of techniques deployed across the board, easier movement between groove-gunning verses and blasted punches of death metal interruptus. It is a solid opener, a proper gun for attention outright, but the trio quickly introduce a far broader oeuvre than the occasionally samey thruster that was ‘Lower Form Resistance‘.

“Hungry Ghosts” makes the first dash for the vocoder, amplifies their knack for elevating ‘Nemesis‘-level riffcraft, and carries a swing in its step which helps to justify some/all of the comparisons made earlier. To my ear this song best defines the Dissimulator sound with its trampling verve going full-bore, bouncier movement and consistently pushed tempo. When the bass guitar clangs a bit louder and we get a few Vektor-esque scraped and spiked-out flourishes on the title track (“Artifice Dissolves” b/w “Alloyed“) they’re truly in the pocket and the full listen builds upon that front from then on. While the opening pieces, the first impression made, help to set the tone and tamber of ‘Artifice Dissolves‘ I’d appreciated the way the experience ramps in pace and frantic complexity over its course.

By the time Dissimulator break out some shred and an interlude/intro or two the total steam of the first half begins to wane in effect but two of the best pieces on the album follow within Side B. If you were a fan of Mariner‘s album earlier this year you should appreciate the absolute cyber-truck through “Neon Metropolis” as their approach to movement seems to pull from similar font. It is a natural peaking moment on the full listen and produces most of the steam available to the second half of the album as they run out of pulse rifle ammo and switch to proggier dynamism. Closer “Robostrobos” is no less impressive, a percussive ramp which escalates as they grind and dash through, arguably the closest thing to ‘Outer Isolation‘ here in terms of rhythmic gnarl but and upgraded form nonetheless.

The moment-to-moment action and well-stylized sound of ‘Artifice Dissolves‘ is top notch in its own right though Dissimulator rarely reach for memorable hooks in any sense, instead they’ve leaned into ear-grabbing techniques and impressive turn-on-a-dime rhythmic kinetics for sustained interest. The details of the experience are potentially more interesting than the overall statement in passing, and I’m not sure any one song totally locked me in to the point of assimilation, but with some repeated listening this second album from the band ultimately hits like a total upgrade beyond their last. A high recommendation.

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