Eschaton – Techtalitarian

Written by on 01-06-2025 at 20:30.

Eschaton is a technical death metal band from Naugatuck (to make it a bit easier geographically: that’s in the state of Massachusetts) in the United States. The band was formed in 2006 and the name is derived from a theological term referring to the end of the world, the end times. In 2015, the three-piece released the album Sentinel Apocalypse via Unique Leaders, followed four years later by Death Obsession, the band having grown to a five-piece by that time.

In October 2024 news came that three band members had left Eschaton. If you were expecting a juicy story about internal strife, curses and accusations back and forth or whatever: none of that. There was no drama at all: it was time for other things in life for the members who left and pursue other ambitions. By leaving, they gave the two remaining members, guitarist Josh Berry and drummer Darren Cesca, the opportunity to go and look for other band members. It could have easily meant the end of the band, but they decided to move on and look for other members. Well, they found them and they are not the least: singer Mac Smith (Apogean, Hammer of Dawn), guitarist Christian Münzner (Retromorphosis, Eternity’s End, ex-Necrophagist, ex-Obscura, ex-Alkaloid) and bassist Scott Bradley (Inanimate Existence) did not only complete the band but also brought inspiration and energy for a new album, entitled Techtalitarian.

On the previous albums we were presented with technical death metal. To me it seems this is a subgenre that has lost a (considerable) part of its appeal for rather a lot of people in recent years. This is because, as a listener, you are confronted more than once with an abundance of technical fiddling but on the other hand a glaring lack of decent, high-quality compositions. Does the quintet only tread the beaten path and fall into this trap of exaggerated guitar madness or does Techtalitarian contain well-developed compositions?

Right from the opening track Inferior Superior, the entire bag of tricks of technical death is pulled out. And so the arpeggios come and go, the guitar lines radiate a lot of menace and power and the splitting blast beats are executed with the precision of a Swiss watch. Smith’s vocals mainly consist of a menacing, abrasive growl, with the occasional typical deathcore scream on top of it. Songs like Devour The Contrarian, Hellfire’s Woe and The Sufferer’s Dichotomy are full of atypical rhythms, unusual time signatures, experimental somersaults, terrifying melodies, unbridled fury and disorienting patterns. All of this is done at a brisk pace. However, the speed never degenerates into endless rushing in a pointless attempt to cram as many notes into a minute as possible.

By adding subtle details, Eschaton plays with dynamics and intensity and puts a little less emphasis on the technical proficiency, so that everything runs just that little bit more smoothly. The softer playing of the guitars at the start (Blood Of The People), an organ and choir singing (Hellfire’s Woe), a piano that darts in between (again Hellfire’s Woe), a cinematic, mystical intro (Econocracy) or the addition of animal roars after half a minute (Antimatter) are such carefully placed details. The technical frivolities are woven into the compositions in a refined manner. They may be clearly present, but are never given too much of a leading role, still serving the compositions. In doing so, the quintet not only manages to avoid the feeling of a disorienting tangle, it also ensures that we are dealing with solid, cohesive songs that emanate a lot of cohesion. No aimless fret-fiddling that results in meaningless fragments, but compositions with lively content.

And these are the reasons why this Techtalitarian by Eschaton is a showpiece of the highest order. Coherent, detailed compositions have taken precedence over technical skill making this album a striking appearance. If technical death metal is your thing, you will undoubtedly have a lot of fun with this. If you are a bit tired of the subgenre, this could just be the album that rekindles your old love.

Score:

86/100

Label:

Transcending Obscurity Records , 2025

Tracklisting:

  1. Inferior Superior
  2. Devour the Contrarian
  3. Blood of the People
  4. Hellfire’s Woe
  5. The Bellicose Duality
  6. Econocracy
  7. Antimatter
  8. Techtalitarian
  9. The Sufferer’s Dichotomy
  10. Castle Strnad

Line-up:

  • Josh Berry – Guitar
  • Scott Bradley – Bass guitar
  • Darren Cesca – Drums
  • Christian Muenzner – Guitar
  • Mac Smith – Vocals

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