MetalSucks

Not too far north of the MetalSucks Mansion, in a land of icy wilderness and hydroponics chronic there lies a province that retains some of the last remnants of French expansion into North America, and within it, the Canadian cultural jewel of Montreal.

Though most Canadians know the music of Montreal for its female-fronted indie snore-fests, it is a also secret wealth of death metal. Montreal has been reigning strong for a good decade spawning many excellent bands, and Despised Icon. Neuraxis are long running veterans who are perhaps only beginning to gain the recognition they rightly deserve after being placed on bigger and better tours. The Thin Line Between could be the springboard to launch them towards greater fame abroad; it’s just the ferocious follow-up to the 2007 tours they needed to prove that they’re only getting better and that they are entirely deserving of your attention.

Neuraxis wield their guitars as frontline weapons of assault, leading every charge with a blazing six-string. What a joy it is to be presented with a band that is so aware of how a well-crafted and superbly executed riff can inspire and exhilarate. A band that knows how progressive song structures simply beg for riffs to beget further riffs and so on. My lord Lucifer in Holy Hell! This album is wall-to-wall riffs, a cascading elegant rapid of furious, memorable licks.

From experience and skill these Canucks are complex and melodic, keeping a fine balance between sections that are awesomely accessible and those that allow them to display a little more of their bedroom scale practicing. The strong focus on riffs is aided both by the roster and the sound engineering: the guitars are crisp and clear in the mix, retaining that feeling of a well-played performance minus much studio molestation. The rhythm section is supportive but distant, skillfully-played but never distracting. Even Alex LeBlanc’s throaty bark comes at you from somewhere just below the madness, beneath the rippling surface. The end result is an album where the guitars are elevated instead of being swamped a mire of kick drum and blast-beats, a pitfall of many a technical metal band.

The Thin Line Between manages to be satisfying on many levels. It’s as heavy as a death metal album should be, aided by moments of rhythmic chugging and fast picking, but manages to turn on a dime into stylish melo-death that is refreshingly un-European. You’ll bang your head to the grooves and then find the harmonies stuck in your brain a day later.

What more can be said? Neuraxis hit the nail on the head and shattered the damned thing with a release that is sure to be on many year-end lists. Personally, I’ll be sure not to miss them on the Canadian edition of the Summer Slaughter tour later this August.

Trés bien, Neuraxis, encore!

(four out of five horns)

-DBR