Entheos has stayed a prominent name in extreme music, which is why it feels crazy to say that their sophomore effort, Dark Future, was released at the end of 2017. Nonetheless, a proper follow-up is finally here, which sees some notable changes for the band. Time Will Take Us All is their first release for Metal Blade Records, as well as a reduction in band members – Entheos is a now a 2-piece of vocalist Chaney Crabb and multi-instrumentalist Navene Koperweis. Unsurprisingly, the shift doesn’t alter their sound so much as allowing the pair to really dig deep into the more cinematic side of things. Thus making Time Will Take Us All the band’s strongest yet.
In an age where we try to increasingly grab snippets and run with them, Entheos stands defiant and provides an album that is best enjoyed whole. Sure, you can certainly toss a track into your Spotify playlist and enjoy a few minutes of esoteric death metal riffage, but Time Will Take Us All is a real journey if you allow it to be. It’s hard to really grab certain tracks to discuss in an album like this, particularly as they all directly lead into the next one. It’s best to sit back and let the music take you on a trip. With this concept in mind, while there is plenty of technical and chaotic riffs and swirling melodies to take in (not to mention Crabb’s ever-increasing and impressive extreme vocal range), what Entheos does best is still continuing to be able to let songs ‘breathe,’ instead of packing each one to the gills with over-the-top tech flexing. Quiet moments, complete with acoustic guitar (“Oblivion”) and clean vocals add an extra layer of trippy to compliment the occasionally otherworldly and dreamy solos. Elsewhere, the emphasis on dark grooves continue to grow from previous material, adding to a surreal sci-fi feeling that puts Entheos in a league of their own (“I Am the Void” and the closing track).
Sometimes, marketing tends to label albums as an experience or journey, but Entheos provide the genuine article with Time Will Take Us All. For all of its ebb and flow, it provides a fluid trip into a death metal world that’s as rooted in sci-fi as it is an acid trip. Fans of their brutal approach won’t be disappointed, but expect an album that’s multi-faceted instead of one that simply settles to go for the throat from beginning to end. Forward-thinking death metal that’s as pensive as it is aggressive.