Hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey, REPLICANT are an American technical death metal trio operating since 2014. The group began as a quartet featuring vocalist and guitarist Michael GONCALVES (of WINDFAERER), guitarist Peter LLOYD (ex-DYSTROPHY and occasional WINDFAERER collaborator), the bassist known as TG (or Tom; of DEATH FORTRESS) and drummer Matthew THOMPSON (also formerly of DYSTROPHY). REPLICANT play a forward-thinking brand of dissonant death metal informed by GORGUTS, RIPPING CORPSE, DEMILICH and VOIVOD as well as hardcore punk.
The group made their debut with 2016's "Worthless Desires" EP. TG left the band shortly thereafter, and GONCALVES would take over bass duties. Now a trio, REPLICANT released their debut album "Negative Life" in 2018 and a split with grindcore duo BAYHT LAHM the year later. GONCALVES' WINDFAERER bandmate James APPLEGATE replaced THOMPSON and made his debut on the 2019 two-track EP "Hypochondria of the Machine". REPLICANT released a song via a four-way split with like-minded bands CRYPTIC SHIFT, INOCULATION and ASTRAL TOMB on 2020's "Chasm of Aeons", and the following year saw the band issue their acclaimed sophomore "Malignant Reality" via Transcending Obscurity Records. The album, more ambitious and ferocious than their prior work, contained cameos by THANK YOU SCIENTIST violinist Ben KARAS, former DYSTROPHY (and current HATH) guitarist Peter BROWN and TOMBS frontman Mike HILL.
REPLICANT have been compared to NEGATIVA, SUNLESS, ULCERATE, DISKORD, BURNT BY THE SUN, NORSE and PYRRHON.
-----Thanks to Gordy for providing the bio and picture-----
1.Acid Mirror 06:37
2.Shrine to the Incomprehensible 05:59
3.Orgasm of Bereavement 03:31
4.Reciprocal Abandonment 06:03
5.SCN9A 01:01
6.Pain Enduring 04:50
7.Nekrotunnel 04:07
8.Dwelling on the Threshold 02:48
9.Planet of Skin 09:11
Released April 12, 2024
After having smashed prevailing standards for the style with their unique approach on their highly lauded previous release, Replicant take things further still with their new full length, finding ways to make their music even more convoluted and impactful while retaining their trademark dissonant and catchy sound. They've found ways to add new aspects to it without hampering the momentum, constantly changing things up with the listener's body still lashing uncontrollably. The songs veer off in their own unexpected, thrilling directions while upholding the inherent semblance of groove, only to reconnect later with greater force. Things seem to add up and make sense as the album progresses, an ostensibly innocuous mechanical contraption getting constant upgrades to become potentially world-ending. There's fire in the songwriting, the members refusing to succumb to the lull of complacency and working furiously, constantly on the songs to elevate them to a rarefied category. It sees the stature of the band rising, the sound evolving methodically and convincingly, the album giving more than what could be expected from them having already established their identity, and in turn setting new standards for others yet again.
For fans of: Gorguts, Norse, Demilich, Negativa, Diskord, Wormed, Resin Tomb, Ulcerate, Terra Builder
Line up
Mike Gonçalves - Vocals, Bass, Guitars
Pete Lloyd - Guitars, Synths, High-Frequency Transmissions
Itay Keren - Guitars, Vocals, Void Channels
/ XBTT (1) by Dejavu
