Deviated Inner Spectrum is an absolutely cracking debut from the Montreal-based technical-death sillyheads known as Pronostic. I'll get to my nitpicking qualms in a minute, but as an introductory comment, I'd like to take my hat off to them for making their debut album sound as if they've been on the scene and perfecting their style for years.

If you disregard the (quite pleasant) intro track, our opener here is the excitingly-titled Methylated Perception. This song is pretty damn enjoyable and I get sad when it finishes, but at the same time I appreciate that Pronostic have kept each track befittingly brief. Demented higher-string riffs intertwine nicely with some savage lower plucking before we move into a manic, hair-tossing verse as two grunters lead the way.

Their drummer, known as Le Fou, blesses us with many beautiful blast-beats and utterly monstrous fills throughout Deviated Inner Spectrum. To say he doesn't miss a beat would be the understatement of the last two, maybe even three weeks. Masterfully diverse guitar solos serve as the emotional peak for each track and the song structures are very organic as opposed to sounding like forced craze-fests. The tempo slows down a few times to let the magic sink in and the dual vocalists sound suitably psychotic at all times.

Now, all of that praise aside, I must make the point that even though the entire band is tight as hell and are obviously gifted instrumentalists, their imagination could be a little fuller when it comes to actual innovation. Too many parts are upsettingly listenable (I know, how dare I) and predictable chord progressions are abundant. I get that they consider themselves a melodic band, but the melodies, as perfectly executed as they are, are not exactly groundbreaking, and the melody/atonality ratio is a little one-sided for my tastes. It leaves my balls blue that some songs aren't quite as filthy as they are screaming out to be.

I will admit that this is a small and possibly unfair criticism of an album that is actually quite powerful and does have a lot of heart to it. I don't doubt that every aspect of this music was given a lot of thought and calculation, because the overall performance and production is immaculate. Everything sounds crisp, deliberate and they will indeed go far if they can pull off this kind of precision and intensity in a live setting. Recommended.