Reviewed By: Chad Coup

Among all the needlessly overly-technical death metal bands, it's extremely refreshing to hear a death metal band so rooted in being retro and fun. It's as if Brainsic, from Portland, has roots so deep in old-school death and thrash that this kind of music is the first thing that came to their minds during practice. That's not to say that this isn't death metal. It is. It's just not the death metal style that many are privy to anymore, and it's clear that this band is technically proficient. The solos, fills and general instrumentation can easily tell you that. Another interesting aspect of this band is the fact that they are a 3-piece.

These seven tracks are full of melodic parts, breaks for cool leads, bass fills, shred fests, and a lot of swingy, groovy death metal. "Until Sleep" has a cool ambient part that wouldn't be out of place on an old Roadrunner Records disc from '92, for instance. The structures of the songs are interesting, if nothing groundbreaking, and transition well without losing their melody or fun factor. "Over," the shortest song at 3:18, is their trademark track. It's fast, heavy and memorable. Brainsic organizes their songs with their ears and not their scale chart. I hear equal parts Entombed and late Behemoth here, especially in the great drumming and guitar work. The lyrics tend to be a bit bland and boring, but the vocals do the job nicely to help cover up any unsightly phrases. I'm willing to bet that a lot of people can get into this style of death metal if they don't always look for the most technical, intense band on the market. This isn't Psycroptic or Atheretic here, nor is it trying to be.

Brainsic cares solely about playing death metal. In this musical climate, they are perhaps more rebellious by not bowing to trends or what is popular with extreme music fans. The band has a lot of crossover appeal; it's technical and heavy enough for many death metal fans and catchy enough for casual observers. If you or someone you know is a jaded death metal fan, listen to this CD. It'll help re-instill to the listener what is lacking from a good heap death metal today: unpretentiousness and fun. No doubt Brainsic puts on a great live show. The band's own statement on their website is more indicative of their overall intent: "We play what we like and love playing shows so show up, drink, rock the fuck out and kick some ass!"