Alchemist
Organasm

Although I consider myself a "globetrotter" when it comes to music, to be completely honest, before encountering the Alchemist, I had never listened to a band from Australia, and if these are the foundations, then I must have missed out on a lot of good music.

But who are the Alchemist? These five guys from Canberra represent an excellent formation of avant-garde/progressive metal and, although relatively young, they have several years of experience behind them (the band was formed in 1987) and you can definitely tell: thanks to this experience, in "Organasm," they reach an uncommon level of artistic maturity, offering us an album rich in nuances and colors capable of easily spanning from purely progressive moments to others closer to an avant-garde style strongly influenced by death for its rhythms, and sometimes even by black, especially regarding Adam Agius's vocal settings, who throughout the album alternates between clean vocals and screams and growls.

Consisting of 10 songs, one of which is instrumental, "Organasm" experiences numerous happy moments and presents very few flaws that truly do not impact the final rating, thanks to a wealth of musical content decidedly above average.

The opening is entrusted to the futuristic "Austral Spectrum," an atmospheric track that immediately highlights the band's technical skills, managing to be virtuosic without overdoing it: the guitar lines are appreciable, as they become, along with the chameleonic voice of the aforementioned Adam (in this piece with scream vocals reminiscent of those heard from colleague Dani of Cradle of Filth), the real protagonists of the track. The following "The Bio Approach," the first part of the "Evolution" trilogy, instead outlines the band's sound, resulting in a mix of progressive, death, crossover, and more: once again, experimental melodic lines, almost Arcturussian in their approach, will overwhelm anyone listening to this work in a whirlwind of emotions that will leave you breathless.

"Rampant Micro Life" can be considered a bit of a weak point on the album, as, while continuing the musical path pursued by the band in the previous piece, it fails to take off in the first part (a little weak). Another downside of the song is an excessive and redundant elongation of times and riffs. We continue with "Warring Tribes-Eventual Demise," the last piece forming part of "Evolution," which "stands out from the crowd," presenting itself as a rock-impact song, accompanied by thrash vocals, forming a colorful picture with contrasting tones but resulting in a truly well-crafted piece. "Single Sided" isn't anything special, a relatively fast track reminiscent of experimental death sounds: while not being a bad song at all, it doesn't manage to leave a mark, although the excellent keyboard work slightly raises the bar.

The pair "Surreality" "New Beginning" returns to move along the lines of the first two episodes, thus being pleasant and captivating for the linearity of the pieces and musical appeal. The next 5 minutes and 30 seconds are the ones that surprised me the most on the album: opened by the chirping of birds and a keyboard that slowly emerges, "Tide In, Mind Out" ends up being, thanks to its mood veiled in melancholy, the true highlight of the LP: you will thus be transported into a truly interesting musical dimension, made of elegance and anger, sweetness and melancholy. This time no one receives high praise, because the band, by cooperating, manages to create a piece that, excuse my exaggeration, I found perfect: impeccable guitar riffs and solos, a well-presented but not overly invasive rhythm section, and a voice capable of great flexibility and power truly succeed in elevating this good album to something more, also making those less successful episodes forgettable.

The instrumental "Eclictic" is decent, which after a start with an almost tribal flavor, transforms into a progressive song, then electronic; a little over five minutes are enough for this track to accomplish its task adequately and without lowering the CD's level. Unfortunately, the closing is not what I expected: after two atmospheric tracks like the ones just passed, it falls a bit into confusion with "Escape From The Black Hole," a piece that does not strike despite the originality of some melodic solutions.

A work that, despite presenting some flaws, as (I hope) is evident from the review, lives through truly happy and great musical moments, which I hope with all my heart will excite you as much as they have excited me.