Rating: 7.1

Country: USA

Genre: Technical Death Metal

Record Label: Canonical Hours

Release Date: 2008

Track list:
1. Ulthar's Decree
2. Mask in Flesh
3. While Sarnath Lies Desolate
4. From the Depths
5. Obduction Sapientia
6. Epiphany of R'lyeh
7. Postmortem Enlightenment
8. Logos Immolated
9. Fuck-Start My Dinner

Band Website: Cyaegha

Cyaegha - Steps of Descent

Steve Redmond - Guitars
Mike Tweed - Bass Guitar
Daniel Cooley - Vocals
Matt Wells - Drums

This new Virginia based group is greatly influenced by the literary works of H.P. Lovecraft as can be made out from the band name - Cyaegha happens to be a fictional deity of some sort in the world of Cthulhu Mythos, as though there weren't enough mythological deities to be worshipped at least in the Hindu religion. Apparently, Cyaegha are out to “bring his supernatural world to life, through the lyrical and melodic darkness of each song.” Right. In any case, it's definitely more intriguing than the done-to-death satanic/gore crap that most death metal acts write about, although truth be told, even this H.P. Lovecraft thing is beginning to get trite.

Cyaegha play technical death metal that sounds like a mix of Spawn of Possession, Cryptopsy, Deeds of Flesh circa Reduced to Ashes, and Origin. Following a short intro, the music immediately blasts off, assaulting your senses with mind-bending technical music. Grabbing your head, the music drags you at breakneck speed through the songs, as your body twists and turns in agony from the pummelling it receives just in time to squeeze through its painstakingly created winding structures without leaving a limb or two behind. While this flowery description may befit that of any decent technical brutal act out there, Cyaegha's music is comparatively more engaging and you will realise that once you stop instinctively resisting their jarring technical music. By allowing your overworked mind to flow with it, the vapid experience turns into a somewhat adventurous one and the feelings which the band is attempting to convey through their music start becoming palpable. This is especially true after the halfway mark signalled by a soft mysterious instrumental piece by William Blackburn. The songs succeeding thereafter have a marked undertone of melody, which help colour your imagination and make the tedious music endurable. The sinuous flow of the music gets smoother and more elegant due to the infusion of catchy Necrophagist-esque hooks and simpler, hummable riff sections of Deeds of Flesh. Check out the song “Logos Immolation” where a transcendental riff reminiscent of Gorguts is played, and the narrative way in which the song is written, covering brutal and melodic subjects, you do believe it has a tale to tell, even though the vocalist has been screaming himself hoarse about the same since the very beginning of this album with his throaty superficial growls and rasps of a similar range. It is difficult to follow him through the lush lyrics, which seem to be condensed poetic versions of Lovecraft's stories, but at least you can look at your reflection in the ultra glossy booklet.

The production unfortunately is on the stiffer, sterile side and doesn't offer Cyaegha's complicated music the sentient quality it requires to convey the Lovecraftian emotions. Although it is forceful, it takes away some of the edge of the instruments thereby making the musicians seem a tad less tight and nimble than they actually are. Nevertheless, their talent and compositional skills cannot be overlooked and fans of technical music are likely to find their music appealing. Others could do worse than giving Cyaegha a shot, for they are reasonably more engrossing than their faceless inanimate peers.

August 15th, 2008