And now, with dozens of new up-and-coming Tech Death bands clawing for our attention, we turn our eyes and ears to Odious Mortem: A loud, chaotic, brutal, and highly technical outfit based in Calirfornia that features members of Decrepit Birth and Severed Savior (The latter's vocalist is instantly recognizable here). Odious Mortem without a doubt falls into the camp of the genre that contains the most visceral bands of the scene (Origin comes to mind), while simultaneously adding a few twists to the music that grants the band a recognizable and somewhat unique sound that makes the bands of the more forward-thinking side of the genre (Gorod, Spawn Of Possession) as established as they are.

With Cryptic Implosion, Odious Mortem very carefully tip-toes the line separating music from cacophony; this is one album that is ballistically out of control, but not so insane that it's difficult to make out what's going on in the tidal wave of stellar, unconventional instrumentation. The tempo is always, always fluctuating; just when you think the band is beginning to wind down a bit, they take off again in a whirlwind of layered shrieks and blast beats. Cryptic Implosion is a sheer adrenaline rush of technical metal that is by no means suitable for the faint of heart. There is a bit of order to be found here, however: many of the lead guitar riffs and solos showcase a touch of ever-welcome melody that, while seldom executed, can offer an occasional breather before this roller coaster of an album delves back into the depths of madness. Just when I began to understand the workings of Technical Death Metal, Odious Mortem shattered my conception of just how technical a group can be before breaking the barrier of understanding and the individual musicians begin to falter because they can't possibly all play something so technical at the same time. Cryptic Implosion truly does destroy that imaginary line with a level of technicality that I simply haven't heard matched before.

Though there are a couple of songs on here that instantly come to mind as being stand-out (Dysmorphic Avulsion, Gestation Of Worms, and Collapse Of Recreation are the best, and are absolutely superbly written, though unfortunately two of the three sit as the shortest tracks on Cryptic Implosion), the album as a whole suffers horribly from lack of variety; the brief melodic segments are nice, but nowhere near the magnitude of switch-up I look for when I want diverse music. Yes, every song is immaculately written and performed, but when you listen to nothing but a massive wall of insanely complicated death metal for thirty five minutes straight (And thank God it's kept this short in length), it grows extremely tiresome and your thoughts may begin to stray into places other than the music at hand. The lyrics are nothing to write home about, either; it's just your typical tech death jargon about inner workings of the subconsciousness or whathaveyou.

Odious Mortem, while not having succeeded in creating an album that's easy to listen to all the way through in one sitting, have set a new standard for just how complex metal music can be without becoming incomprehensible; Cryptic Implosion is definitely a must-listen for all tech death fans, but be advised that it's best to listen before you buy, and that the album is best listened to in small doses; three or four tracks at a time should do the trick.