Destrudo
Falx Cerebri

In 2010, Destrudo released their second demo "Falx Cerebri". The group tunes into the wavelength of the most intricate and experimental Death Metal, within the music of the Roman band, we find Progressive nuances, vaguely jazzy brushstrokes, and strong references to the masters of Technical Death from the past, especially Cynic. However, we are not talking about a clone band; the group has its own originality, which is perceived throughout the duration of the mini-album. The tracks are four in total, with medium/long duration. The only short intermission is the title track, an instrumental piece under 3 minutes and perhaps the most daring; a carpet of guitars intertwines with a sax that performs a ride throughout the duration of the piece, almost jarringly overlapping the guitars, all enriched by an electronic part deviating from the main theme. Perhaps too much going on, but it is handled in an absolutely non-trivial and interesting way; experimentation is also this.

The remaining three tracks "Matter in A Ghost World", "Concussion", and "Lord of War" remain on a plane more closely tied to Prog Death; they are three excellently played and equally excellently composed tracks. The first of them is, in the opinion of the writer, the strong point of the demo, a track over 8 minutes long but never tiresome, resulting varied without getting lost in unnecessary digressions. The singer's voice naturally transitions from aggressive singing to a rather pleasant clean, in some interludes the voice is electronically effected, personally bringing to mind Masvidal's voice on "Focus". Excellent guitar parts both from a riffing perspective and from a solo aspect. The rhythmic part may not enjoy maximum prominence but is never out of place and every insertion is calibrated just right. Structurally similar to "Matter in A Ghost World" is "Lord of War" while "Concussion" remains the most direct track of the album, perhaps closer to more traditional Death Metal, which in any case does not stray from the technical aspects that are evident throughout the album. Worthy of note is also the excellent production of the album with a clean and full sound.

In conclusion, the demo is really good, perhaps 4 tracks are too few to fully evaluate a band, but it is certainly an excellent starting point for future ideas.