Symphonic/Technical Death Metal from Bogotá, Colombia
"I AWAKEN" – Brainblast's 2024 single unveils a monumental sound that redefines the boundaries of genre. A masterful blend of complex orchestration and technical ferocity, this track embodies and defines what the band now calls symphonic technical death metal. Brainblast now awaits even greater endeavors in the future!
This single establishes a new identity and sonority, surpassing the musical limits of the band’s former sound. It crafts what Brainblast defines as 'Symphonic Technical Death Metal,' pushing the known boundaries of the genre.
1. I Awaken 04:01
2. Pull the Plug (Death cover)
3. I Awaken (Orchestral version)
This last Sunday, I had the awesome opportunity to play drums with @landoneatsfood, Jade, and @prestonpoops at an Obviate practice! It was super fuckin' fun, and we all clicked together great! I can't wait to keep playing with them! ❤️ #obviate #hasanewdrummer #anditsme #hellyeah #rockon #hardrock #band #imahardrocker #practice #twinfalls #drums #progdeath
Album Review by Bradley Christensen
Band: Made Man God
Album: Prima Materia
Record Label: Chugcore International
Release Date: April 8 2016
My last review mentioned the idea that progressive death metal isn’t quite as common of a genre as it should be, especially when a few solid prog-death releases are currently out there for your people to listen to, purchase, and keep in their music collections forever, but I wanted to extend that to another genre – deathcore. See, I really enjoy deathcore, but aside from post-hardcore in the vein of Pianos Become The Teeth and La Dispute, easycore, and melodic hardcore, I don’t really listen to “core music” much anymore, at least of the generi-core variety. That’s not exactly my thing anymore, but I love deathcore. Maybe it’s less formulaic, and much heaver than metalcore, but it’s stuck with me all these years in ways that metalcore really hasn’t. That’s not to say I have my problems with the genre, because I don’t really care for a lot of generic deathcore that’s out there. Believe me, a lot of it exists, and it’s pretty oversaturated, just as much as metalcore and post-hardcore is. The thing is, though, I’m more lenient towards a lot of deathcore bands, because they perform their respective genre very well, but I don’t really love every single deathcore band I hear. I just covered the debut EP from UK deathcore band Awaking Athena, and while I liked it, it was just generic deathcore at best. Not bad, of course, but if you’re not into deathcore, it’s not going to win you over at all. I hate how a lot of metalheads think metalcore and deathcore aren’t “real metal,” even though they are, because that means these bands have to try harder to appeal to metalheads that may love death metal, but hate “core” music. There’s nothing wrong with disliking it, but a lot of people just outright disregard it, even though that’s not okay.
What I really like, however, is when deathcore bands combine other genres into their music, whether it’s melodic death metal, technical death metal, or even prog-metal. Along with Awaking Athena, I recently covered the debut LP from symphonic deathcore band Before the Harvest, 2015’s Wretched Existence, and it was a rather interesting and unique deathcore album, because they kind of brought something new to the table. Today I wanted to talk about another deathcore band that kind of brings something to new to the table, and that’s prog-deathcore band Man Made God, as well as their debut EP, 2016’s Prima Materia. I came across these guys while looking up deathcore / death metal albums on Bandcamp, especially free releases, but soon after I came across Prima Materia, I noticed that the band put up a limited edition pre-order of a physical pressing of the EP, so I decided to cop it, because it’s very good. I feel pretty similarly about this EP as I felt about Infernal Outcry’s new album / EP, Mass Extinction Requiem I, where it’s very, very well-done progressive metal / death metal, but in Man Made God’s case, it’s deathcore. There are some very impressive guitar riffs, and solos, as well as some very atmospheric, grandiose, and epic moments, ultimately combining both styles of metal very well. Unlike Mass Extinction, however, the main thing that keeps me from proclaiming this to be absolutely perfect, although it’s a great EP (or album, because this EP is about 25 minutes, close to being a record), isn’t that it’s a sum of its part. Mass Extinction Requiem I was more or less a sum of its parts, in that neither its death metal side or its prog-metal side were better or worse than the other. They were quite equal, and if you took one side out, the band wouldn’t really be as good.
The problem I have with Prima Materia is that the band is much, much more focused on their deathcore side. That’s not a bad thing, honestly, because their brand of deathcore is very well done, but they only merely sprinkle in a dash of prog-metal here and there, especially on a few tracks in particular. It’s only a slight sprinkle, not necessarily throughout the entire 25-minute record, so you’re left with deathcore that’s pretty well done, but admittedly sort of generic. That’s not to say this EP (or album) isn’t any good, or that I wouldn’t recommend it, because I certainly would. They still have a prog-metal influence, it’s just not there all the time. It’s not as blatant as other bands, such as Fallujah, or Enslaver, just to name a couple of prog-death / prog-deathcore acts that really know how to balance the two sounds. If you’re looking for a good deathcore EP to check out, especially a band that has some progressive influence, Man Made God’s Prima Materia is worth listening to. It’s free to download on their Bandcamp, but if you like it, it’s up for pre-order on Chugcore’s website. It’s limited to 30 copies, but only 29, because I got mine. Despite not really being the best deathcore album I’ll hear all year, this is the band’s debut release, so they have a lot of time to grow. I’m hoping this band grows to be similar to Fallujah, an act that can break boundaries, and have a sound that’s very, very, very well done and unique. I can see that band heading to that degree of musicianship and technicality, but the only real thing is they need to put some more emphasis on the progressive elements of their sound. They’re certainly in there, but the deathcore sound of the band overshadows that, for better or worse.
"Sometimes I forget the words and act like my mic doesn't work. That way the sound guy looks bad and people don't know I'm an idiot and forget my own lyrics. I've fallen before on stage as well."
