Neoplasmah
Sidereal Passage

Brutal and exasperated like few others in the technical-death metal field, the Neoplasmah make their entrance in 2004 with this beautiful "Sideral Passage." Coming from a land, that of Portugal, already the homeland of bands like the well-known Moonspell, the band is confirmed as yet another surprise coming from a country that has witnessed the birth of a death movement that is bringing numerous high-caliber groups to light.

Formed by Sofia Silva (vocals), José Marreiros (vocals and guitars), Vitor Mendes (guitars), Rolando Barros (drums), and Alexander Ribeiro (bass), the Neoplasmah make an impression with a first listen for the music offered: light years away from the classic technical death with melodic and jazzy shades so dear to historic bands such as Cynic or Atheist, but equally far from the sound of more modern groups such as Nile, these five Portuguese instead sound decidedly closer to the Canadian movement, resulting, though technical, extremely direct and violent, favoring an approach to music much closer to metal.

Composed of 11 medium-short length episodes (the longest song, "Vortex Voyager," reaches 5 minutes and 23 seconds), the album sounds immediately, although equipped with complex structures, blazing guitar and bass solos, extremely direct, violent, almost sparse, with consistently tight rhythms, riffs chasing one after the other, without leaving a moment of respite, and a particularly violent growl, which at times takes on such guttural tones reminiscent of the voice of Chris Barnes ex-Cannibal Corpse. Thus, moment of great quality chase each other without a moment's relief, such as the opener "Interplanetary Inner Sanctum," endowed with a dark and violent mood, reminiscent of what has already been heard on Neuraxis' works, or the 3 minutes and 14 seconds of the thrashy "Enter The Void Of Spectral Velocity," perhaps the most raw and visceral track of the entire platter. Still worth mentioning is the duo "Interstellar Experiences," an instrumental track in which Neoplasmah indulge in a bit more virtuosity, especially concerning the guitar section with a really splendid final solo, and "Out Of Void," a piece introduced by distorted drums, all played on the crassest speed that leaves the listener not even a moment to breathe.

Naturally, not everything present in this LP shines like gold: it is noticeable that the vocals are sometimes too distorted and perhaps sound unnatural and at times out of place in a musical context like that of Neoplasmah; also worth noting is the poor recording quality of the album, which negatively affects, especially regarding the drums (sometimes sounding too fake and plasticized) and especially the bass, which comes and goes.

The last consideration to make regards the truly splendid lyrics, which now deal with space and the cosmos, now with the complex mind of the human race. Thus, despite the previously mentioned flaws, not too venial to be honest, this "Sideral Passage" remains nevertheless a product of genuinely good quality, capable of bringing a breath of freshness and violence into a landscape, that of techno-death, which sometimes gets lost in really unappealing experiments.