Order of Ennead

It's pretty obvious that the former members of progressive-minded extreme metal band Council of the Fallen weren't too worried about disassociating themselves with their immediate past when they reinvented their act as the not dissimilarly named Order of Ennead — and with good reason, as the latter seems, in many ways, like a natural extension of the former. Both bands operate within the general extreme orbits of black, death, and even thrash metal, without bothering to commit to any one of them entirely, but if the first group's densely packed brutality suggested a slight tendency toward the death scene (where most of the musicians involved originally cut their teeth), the second's crisp precision most certainly insinuates the black. Come to think of it, so too do the raspy, slithering nature of Kevin Quirion's vocals and the frequent blastbeat volleys projected by drummer (and Deicide legend) Steve Asheim, but the intensely melodic infusions throughout labyrinthine tracks like "Seeking the Prophets," "Introspection and the Loss of Denial," and "A Cry to the Perilous Sun" make it impossible to pigeonhole them that easily. Another ace in the band's deck materializes in the shape of rookie guitar shredder John Li, who continually trades fabulously frenzied solos and shares soaring twin harmonies with Quirion, while also conspiring on a few much-needed semi-acoustic passages during "As Long as I Have Myself, I Am Not Alone" and "Interlude with Reason." And by keeping their songs short and to the point, despite their progressive inclinations, Order of Ennead never overstay their welcome, resulting in one of the more pleasantly surprising American extreme metal debuts of the year.