Fear Februus’ technicality.
Created by Swedish musician Andreas Karlsson (vocals/all instruments, Elephant Skin, Entertainment Cult, Tusenårseken, Well of Depression), the first demo was released in 2021, followed by an EP the following year, and finally an album, Surveillance Orgy, in 2023. In 2024, the Indian label Transcending Obscurity Records gave it a physical existence.
With first composition Gentrification of the Soul, it’s easy to notice that Februus‘ Death Metal is far from classic, letting the musician unleash his complex jerky riffs at full speed. A few vociferations also join the torrent of rage, which slows down at times before surging forward again until Morning Star over Deathlehem, another even more dissonant and terrifying track that descends on us without warning thanks to haunting and piercing tones, not to mention the cavernous vocal parts. The Prog approach is also exploited, as much in the length of the track as in its convoluted riffs packed with ethereal harmonics, then it’s with the strangely short The Price of Enterprise that the musician continues his journey into the strange and disquieting sounds, this time drawing on more raw influences. Old School and riffy imbroglio mingle once again on Surveillance Orgy, a track in which the creator regularly injects unpredictable leads, whether in delicate little touches or in veritable rolls of tapping, then the finale allows us to return to a kind of simplicity before attacking the final track, entitled Resignation Syndrome. Over fourteen minutes of distortion, screaming guitars and above all, coherent complexity that finally slows down in its center, borrowing from Death/Doom its darkness and oppression before exploding once more to let blast and strings unfurl their fury to silence.
If you’re a fan of musical dissonance, convoluted complexity and unstructured rhythms, Februus is definitely the band for you. Surveillance Orgy is as wild as unpredictable, but it’s still incredibly powerful!
85/100
