Dissonant death metal, outside of the old school variety, is one of the most dominant forms of death metal these days. Within that stylization, there’s a plethora of variety if one digs deep enough. To the tight and focused to the absolutely unhinged, the range is ever gaping. A new entry onto the scene is Hierarchies, who opt for the chaotic, to say the very least. When one investigates exactly who is involved, that concept becomes less of a surprise.
Guitarist Nicholas Turner and vocalist/drummer Jared Moran are also the tandem behind the wild tech death project Acasual Intrusion, and if you include bassist Anthony Wheeler, the Hierarchies trio also makes up the off the rails insanity that is Dwelling Below. These are all projects that are highly unique, offbeat, and at times bizarre in the best of ways. When these fellows announce another team up, don’t even attempt to come up with an expectation, because it likely won’t match what’s delivered.
Immediately, it’s evident that Hierarchies are divergent from any assumptions. They’re labeled as technical death metal, but slapping on a finer categorization proves elusive. Yes, this is very technical death metal, and although similarities to Acasual Intrusion are present, this is a different monster entirely. Front-to-back, their self-titled debut album will make the head spin by way of caustic dances via fretboard and no time signature or tempo that remains consistent. Take the mad opener “Entity” for example – it stops, starts, flies off the rails, and somehow lands right back on the track like an old Warner Brothers cartoon short. Pieces such as “Dimension” add slick soloing and a dip into the melodic, all while tearing the listener apart in disturbing fashion. “Twilight Tradition” feels more restrained in parts while leaving shrapnel in your temple when it pops off. “Complexity Parallels” lives up to its name in maddening tonality, offering up one of the most blistering compositions on offer, whereas “Subtraction” emits a jazzy doom vibe.
With all of that in mind, you may conclude that this roller coaster of a debut leans towards being disjointed, and on the surface, it could come across as something to that nature to the casual listener who wants their death metal mind-numbingly boring and predictable. There’s a thousand bands out there to drift you off to sleep, and Hierarchies isn’t one of them. Though certainly not perfect, what’s conjured is an arrangement of enticing organized chaos, which often mirrors my day-to-day life.
Hierarchies offers an odd focus within their vastly differing song structures and bleak, horrifying soundscapes, amounting to a punishing, violent, and challenging listen for whomever dares to join them. We have a record by three individuals who know what they’re after, providing us a release of cerebral, peculiar, and bewildering death metal that doubtlessly rewards repeat listens with a further descent into hysteria.