As the grueling summer heat gives way to the brisk air of autumn, a shift in energy is beginning to take hold of the extreme metal world. Though the most prominent death and black metal releases over the past several months have displayed a marked focus on grimy, old-school, meat-and-potatoes interpretations of their genres, the final months of the year are soon to reveal gems of a more coldly calculated, hypermodern ilk, hinting at a new surge of highly technical material. Leading this hallowed return to fine-tuned complexity is Arizona four-piece Singularity, a long-running group whose bizarre yet neatly-defined stylistic crossover sees masterful tech-death riffwork colliding headlong with lush, orchestral black metal soundscapes. With their upcoming sophomore album Place of Chains, the group have pushed their sound even further into its own arena of innovation, achieving a truly progressive sound despite its clear-cut ingredients.

Formed in Tempe in 2010, Singularity have since chosen to favor the quality and refinement of their output over its volume. The follow-up to their 2016 Void Walker EP, Place of Chains sees the group streamlining the structure of their approach, yet also embellishing it with crisp, polished production and greater depth in its layered soundscapes. Mixed by Inferi guitarist Mike Low and mastered by Anagnorisis guitarist Zak Denham, the record takes on much of the orchestral, neoclassical grandeur of its producers work, giving Singularitys already spacious compositions an even more expansive atmosphere. With guest appearances from a stacked list of subgenre-specific musicians including Inferi guitarist Malcolm Pugh, Equipoise guitarist Nick Padovani, and Arkaik vocalist Jared Christianson, the record will shape up to be a hearty serving of masterful death metal. In anticipation of the record, Singularity have now unleashed its seventh track Serpentes, Eternal which you can stream at the link below.

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A perfect microcosm of Singularitys special tylistic amalgam, Serpentes, Eternal presents a fascinating integration between the hyperspeed clockwork of tech-death and the diminished gothic tonalities of black metal. As the jagged precision of its spiraling central riff meets piano arpeggios and synths lurking beneath pummeling double bass, the interstellar prison-world setting of Place of Chains is illustrated in bleak detail. Much of Singularitys approach is rooted primarily in tech-death, of course, especially in the guttural and staccato texture of the bands vocals and percussion, the latter of which is provided by Nathan Bigelow of tech-death stalwarts Arkaik.

In a welcome fusion, however, black metal tonalities and harmonic inflections are woven between these sharpened bursts of technicality, with the dense synthesizer acrobatics of late keyboardist Nick Pompliano providing a the groundwork for the records symphonic splendor. The final moments of Serpentes, Eternal shift gears into a freakish hybrid between an arachnid breakdown and a frozen tremolo march of black metal percussion, providing compelling proof that Singularitys recipe is as versatile as it is novel.

With a pulse of virtuosic musicality, Singularity seize the most potent elements of each the two subgenres they have set out to combine in order to eschew the sterility that is present in each. Utilizing the polished poignancy of tech-death without any of its gratuitous convolutions and combining this with a grandiose but never campy black metal ambience, they have curated a healthy balance between two largely immiscible genres.

Place of Chains releases October 11th via The Artisan Era.

From the band:

Place of Chains lyrically illustrates the emotions of being wrongfully imprisoned. Considering that many of the songs on this record lyrically are about enslavement, we felt it was a good over-arching title for the album. With every record, we try to further hone in on what the core of Singularitys sound is and what we want to bring to the world of metal.

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Singularity Unleash Serpentes, Eternal, the Latest From Their Upcoming Tech-Death Masterpiece - Invisible Oranges