Solipsist-The Burning Mass

Ferocious Records
2015

Solipsist is a long-running metal band that is based in Cleveland, Ohio and has two EPs, two splits and (thanks to this late March release) two full-length albums to it's name. Since day one this five-piece group has been fronted by lead singer/producer Noah Buchanan (From the Hellmouth, Ron George, Nunslaughter (live), Arecibo) and on their latest release here this extreme front-man is aided by the mad skills of Mark Witherspoon (guitars), Steve Sinko (guitars), Dave Vezdos (bass), and Dave Chojnacki (drums). While the group issued it's first EP, "Medicate the Masses", back in 2007 it was actually Solipsist's 2010 full-length debut, "The Human Equation" that put this (HEAVY as HELL) metal band on everyone's radar. Between that release and the band's (equally-epic) 2012 follow-up (the self-released "Extinction Protocol") it was GAME ON MOTHERFUCKERS for these Cleveland death thrashers and "The Burning Mass" is no exception! Self-produced by Noah Buchanan and his fellow bandmates, "The Burning Mass" is Solipsist's first full-length album on actual label and they celebrate this glorious occasion in grand style. In other words they pull down the heavens and stomp the living fuck out of anything and anyone that dares get in their way!!! By this point in their stellar career the guys in Solipsist have made easy work of the whole slash 'em/bash 'em style of death metal thrash and in many people's minds they are towards the top of the heap as far as that type of extreme music is concerned. Thankfully much of what you'll hear on this album tilts towards that same direction. Heavily in fact! But then it's also no great secret that the guys in Solipsist like to pull in different elements of not only death metal (melodic and technical) and thrash (the same as far as melodic and technical goes, but also raw, hardcore-tinged thrash!), but things like heavy power metal, metalcore and groove. It's not as if any of that has suddenly disappeared with the group's second studio album or anything. With "The Burning Mass" you get all of that metallic taste, but with no artificial colors or flavors! Every once of fat has been trimmed from this huge slab of meat which ends up leaving nothing but a prime-time (grab some cold beers fellas!) meal that you'll want to gobble up in one sitting! Once more this criminally-underrated Ohio band brings pride to our metal scene and with it's pristine production job and absolutely perfect framework they also highlight the glorious state of extreme metal here in the U.S.! Over the past few years Solipsist has all but destroyed the notion that independent/underground metal bands can't compete on the big stage with the name brand artists and I'd dare anyone to go and listen to "The Burning Mass" and then tell me in all honestly that it doesn't belong in the same league as said bands! This Cleveland band has reached it's evolutionary peak and it's a place where all the best characteristics of death metal, thrash, metalcore, groove, and even (modern) hard rock/heavy metal rest comfortably in the knowledge that there is no more that needs to be achieved! Every-bit the real deal and an absolute must-buy for fans of all things BRUTAL and BEASTLY, "The Burning Mass" made me see Solipsist in a whole new light and chances are it will do the same thing to you. I've been a fan of this extreme metal band since I first heard "The Human Equation" back in early 2011 and even so there is no way in heaven or hell that I could have foreseen just how FUCKING amazing this gang would get! Do whatever needs to be done to snag and bag this CD and if you live anywhere near where this band is playing live then drop what you're doing and get out there & get down with this bad ass metal machine!

Solipsist-Extinction Protocol

Self-Release
2012

When Solipsist posted on FaceBook that they were looking for sites to review their new EP I jumped at the opportunity. Having reviewed the group's "The Human Equation" (link below) I can tell you that these guys bleed metal. Maybe I really am a gluten for punishment because listening to Solipsist can be like having someone hit you upside the head with a spiked baseball bat ala Escape From New York. There is heavy and then there is HEAVY. Solipsist fall into that second category. Spit out from hell in the summer of 2006 this Ohio-based act plays brutal technical death metal/thrash that could make heads exploded. Sure enough it is a technical beast and this EP offers quite a bit of well thought out songs with the usual level of professional experience you'd expect from these guys. That said this isn't some sort of " Well hello Mister Fancy pants" technical metal on display here folks. This is a blood-bath of Biblical proportions type of heavy metal onslaught and any technical playing only adds to the seriousness of the mass destruction. When the band opens with a track called "Save Me a Place in Hell" you know this isn't going to be some afternoon walk in the park, by-the-numbers death metal album. The band's usual Death and early Sepultra influences come into play along with some early Slayer & Metallica, Carcass, later day Napalm Death, Lamb of God, Opeth, Gojira, Dying Fetus and Morbid Angel appreciation. What's not to like about a band that can crush bones as well as spirits with only a few chords? With this sort of death/thrash hybrid it all comes across as very natural and very nasty. The only downside is the short length of "Extinction Protocol". With only 6 songs here to enjoy your going to build up a nice sweat but if there is more steam you want to blow off you'll have to hit replay. The issue with the length of the album aside (it's a little over 30 minutes total) Solipsist's new EP is crunchy death/thrash metal for the modern age of warfare. Solipsist continue to not only redefine the term metal but the term heavy as well. Yet again Ohio throws down the challenge of brutal and bloodied metal and dares others to step up and face the music. If there was justice to be found in the world of heavy metal Solipsist would no longer be an unknown name. For the time being those of us in Ohio should make the most of it and enjoy this underground bulldozer of a band.

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