Review of Archspire - "The Lucid Collective"
MID-MAJOR MAYHEM
By: Geoff Teach
From supernal start to venerable finish, rarely has your humble music critic ever been so floored by an entire album’s worth of implausibly heavy music as I was by the recent release of Vancouver, B.C.’s Archspire, “The Lucid Collective” (Season of Mist Records). Astonishing in every way, “The Lucid Collective” is eight excellently produced tracks filled with surgically precise drums, impossible riffs of both of the grinding and aerial varieties, rhythmic vocals, and phenomenal low-end offerings. There is truly no way I can describe just how incredible it all is when put together and taken in as a whole, so I guess you’ll just have to press play for yourself and find out…
Following my first listen to Archspire’s “The Lucid Collective” in its entirety, I distinctly remember needing a cigarette after the utter tech-death assaulting that I, my ears, and my soul had just received. Brutal but balanced, chaotic but controlled, Archspire follow their motto of “Stay Tech” to the letter, and the blitzkrieg that is their incredible sound never seems to relent. Starting off with “Lucid Collective Somnambulation”, a track which led a good friend of mine to exclaim “Holy Fuckballs!” upon his first listen, Archspire wastes no time getting right to their finely-honed point. With more ass-kicking tracks like “Scream Feeding” and “Plague of Am”, “The Lucid Collective” already by this point had my head gloriously spinning, but it was with a little ahem and a stutter-step bark that Archspire begins one of my favorite tracks, “Fathom Infinite Depth”. Words will always fall short of describing it…spiraling fills, break-neck changes, and a chorus that’s relatable to all intelligent beings…yes, it’s nothing short of a tech-death orgasm. Moving along into stunning tracks like “Join Us Beyond” and “Seven Crowns and the Oblivion Chain”, Archspire seems like they may never let-up, but just when you think your brain cannot take anymore arpeggios or headbang-inducing barking, the Canadian incarnation graces us with “Kairos Chamber”, and it’s calmer, churning, phased-out guitar work is stellar, but, like any good metal band worth its salt, Archspire saves their absolute best for last with “Spontaneous Generation”….with drums that at times sound akin to a mini-gun and riffage to match, “Spontaneous Generation” is killer tech-death metal perfection.
Do yourself a favor….head to one of the links provided below, procure yourself a copy of “The Lucid Collective”, and reserve forty-five minutes to listen to the entire album front-to-back. After doing so, you can send me your thank you’s in any way you see fit. Ladies, feel free to get creative here…
You can find Archspire on the web here: