Embracing the passivity of automata life and the blissful certainty available to corporate conformity we reject all knowledge of the dystopia abounding for the sake of predictability, cushy bindings which ensure absolute and enduring compliance. Social engineering and the ease with which technology can render populations pliable is at the heart of Toronto, Ontario-based progressive tech-death metal quintet Apogean‘s argument made for the overreaching weaponization of technology against human beings over the course of the last half century. Their all-boxes-checked and nowadays industry standard touting debut full-length album, ‘Cyberstrictive‘, finds the scales busted in favor of corrosion, all checks and balances dashed out as they conclude that technology will ultimately serve more burden than a boon upon the greater population.

Apogean formed at some point between late 2019 and early 2020, generally a bedroom project working on a showcase for guitarist Dexter Forbes who’d soon brought in similarly minded folks interested in progressive metal dynamism and how it might apply to their taste in heavier music to a high professional standard. Their adjacency to popular deathcore scenery seems to have ultimately rubbed off on their sound but not in any serious way, ultimately expressing a style which has a bit of The Black Dahlia Murder and Inferi-esque everything-in melodicism with the spaced-out atmospheric delve of groups like The Faceless and Fallujah vaguely in mind. That is to say that their points of inspiration are popular nowadays bands with little in the way of nostalgia or the canonical stylistic tradition of heavy metal driving their experience, in this sense my interest in this band centers around their take on progressive metal and how it is applied to a laid back yet still over the top modern death metal standard of performance.

Introducing themselves through Nuclear Blast‘s digital pay-to-play service Blood Blast, Apogean would initially release their debut mLP (‘Into Madness‘, 2021) to some considerable notice, having played a handful of shows with popular bands (i.e. Brand of Sacrifice) around that time. They were eventually picked up by The Artisan Era in 2022 as the band were a perfect fit for the label’s unique tech death branding as that first release got a proper 12″ LP release. It was a pretty standard introductory record for a progressive death metal band with all of the aesthetic choices and production values one’d expect from a band aiming for a high professional standard. The investment was clear and potentially polished enough of a greeting that it’d threatened to not stand out very much to start. What’d stuck with me per their debut was its atmosphere, particularly the outro to “Vacuous” where an almost Metroid: Prime-era chiptune influenced piece signaled there was more there than the usual sub-genre signifiers and patternation in their intent. This makes sense as they’ve suggested some member’s association with soundtrack and/or advertising music; So, the major point of the preamble here is to suggest that Apogean have aimed for a high industry standard in terms of fidelity, aesthetic, and promotion while submitting approachable and performative modern progressive death metal in the broadest sense.

In line with their original goals and proclivities ‘Cyberstrictive‘ infuses far more of the progressive metal side of things into Apogean‘s approach, leaning into the surreal and the performative as they work staggered time signatures and spaced-out breaks into the dramatic tension of each ~4-5 minute death metal song herein. Though the later stages of their path (“An(t)imus”, “Spinthariscope”) do touch upon what I’d consider technical deathcore influenced work much of the quintet’s focus leans less toward the shred spectrum of tech-death while still providing a virtuosic and -at times- understated experience. In fact many have suggested their sound appears unusually “laid back” some sense, at least compared to nearby peers in this style. This observation does not apply to the vocals from new frontman Mac Smith (ex-Krosis) who does well to reveal different parts of his oeuvre as the album progresses, digging into it around my personal favorite piece “Distance (Of Walls and Wails)” as he persists with guttural and layered roars a la Inanimate Existence while creeping toward the goblin-type interjections you’ll find on more recent Cattle Decapitation stuff. Otherwise openers “Bluelight Sonata” and “Thousand-Yard Glare” introduce the chuggier odd-timed movements of their rhythm section as well, a stretch from the familiar progressive tech-death style they’d introduce on their debut EP.

The more Apogean slow down and freak into their prog metal side the more interesting their sidebars and interjections become, so, if the first several pieces on Side A feel kinda stock standard prog/tech death of today I’d say let the second half have its say. By the time you’ve hit “Within the Bounds of Similie” and “Polybius”, both of which do particularly well in integrating their atmospheric reach alongside their heavier staggered rhythms, ‘Cyberstrictive‘ should have at least conveyed some of its most obvious appeal. “Spinthariscope” almost pushes too far in that direction, sounding kinda like earliest djent at its chugging pace, but they do eventually break into some electronic/guitar synth breaks and more tech-groove hits to bring in some energy before the piece fades into its tremolo picked post-music inspired swells.

Naturally there are too many details to mull over and pick through in a short period of time, though I’d found each full listen of ‘Cyberstrictive‘ did well enough to create a tense and dramatic mood fitting for its themes while showcasing their serious approach to modern prog-death with some interesting enough atmosphere. While this band should be taken seriously for the thought they’ve clearly put into this release their approach is veers toward style over substance for my own taste, especially when it comes to authoring songs with repeatable value. That said, there are countless finer details here which will keep musician minds and tech-gawkers very well entertained and there is no question their inventive and accomplished musicianship has potential to slide into view next to bigger names in this style. A moderately high recommendation.

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