Parasite Inc. – Cyan Night Dreams (Reaper Entertainment)
Friday, 26th August 2022
It’s always exciting to take in bands hailing from rich, fertile soil in all genres of heavy metal such as Germany. Subscribing to an assaultive form of melodic, groove-oriented death metal, Parasite Inc. hit the scene in 2007, releasing a demo, two studio records and a live album while broadening their appeal across Europe beyond domestic borders – even hitting the top 40 official German charts with 2018’s Dead and Alive. We now have the follow-up Cyan Night Dreams, the first to feature bassist Lucien Mosesku – an album that contains a host of modern plus throwback elements to ensure the band won’t remain stagnant or predictable in terms of output.
The extensive use of synth parts (both guitarist/vocalist Kai Bigler and drummer Benjamin Stelzer holding down those duties) often allows Parasite Inc. to add an industrial, cyber-like coldness to “Under Broken Skies” plus the title track, also encouraging different vocal employment and electronic percussion aspects to the alternative beyond the conventional vicious roars / electric instrumentation expected in this style. Never fear, the quartet also know how to push the accelerator to fire out those energetic riffs, double kick/snare salvos against Kai’s relentless, aggressive screams as “I Am” and “Into Destruction” obliterate in classic, 90’s-oriented performances. There’s a bounciness to the rhythms, often layered in such a way through supplementary guitar / keyboard melodies that injects everything from Rammstein to Arch Enemy and latter day In Flames when taking in “First Born”, while 80’s synth wave measures open the proceedings to closer “When All Is Said” – the stunted guitars and softer clean vocal for the initial verse builds out into this cyber/electric swirl before concluding in quiet measures.
Many listeners may dig the diversity, others will probably run for cover as they prefer a steady, aggressive approach in this subgenre. Kudos for going against the grain, as Parasite Inc. could be that alternative to the melodic death metal scene people yearn for. Cyan Night Dreams contains the ideal mix of influences that could aid the band’s foothold in a modern touring environment clamoring for new innovators.
