Writing and releasing Technical/Progressive melodic death metal in 2019 is an uphill task. With the incredible work coming from Inferi, Equipoise, The Odious Construct, Aethereus, A Loathing Requiem, Augury and every other artist on The Artisan Era roster, and Obscura releasing their fourth full-length, the cycle-ending masterpiece, Diluvium, can another band with every possible genre cliché survive? The French tech-heads in Fractal Universe sure tried with their newest record, Rhizomes of Insanity.

Following the heels of their first full-length Engram of Decline, which leaned heavily on the breed of proggy death metal popularized by fellow Frenchmen in Gorod, 2019’s Rhizomes of Insanity is a heavy-handed love letter to the Germans in Obscura. Album opener and first single “Oneiric Realisations” has every single element found on Obscura’s latest offering, albeit with a more amateur-ish flavor and immediately informs the listener of what to expect from the entire runtime of Rhizomes.

Fractal Universe took a hard look at what made acts like Obscura, Gorod, Augury, Necrophagist champions in the genre, and decided to play every possible card in the deck. The result is ten tracks of B-side Obscura tracks, all of the glamor and shimmer, with none of the sincerity and heft. We get all the guitar goodies on Rhizomes, the strung skipped staccato runs, the extended legato jugglery that every band in the genre is morbidly attached to, the pronounced bass, often doing its own thing to prove a point. To alleviate what now reads as an overtly negative review, none of the musicianship is poor, in fact, the guitar arrangements are well interlaced with tempo and tonal changes,  when sprinkled with acoustic ambient overdubs can be quite enjoyable. But none of this is particularly new or innovative in 2019, nor are they done with the maturity of a band that is attempting to strike out on their own. The solos are technical; the drums are doing what they are supposed to; everything works as it supposed to, but nothing leaps out and makes a listener want to even remember the track for future listens. One of the few aspects which were enjoyable was the masterful use of synths and strings throughout the record. It is one of the few aspects that weren’t driven into the ground and added nuance to an otherwise hackneyed experience. In another reality where the aforementioned bands did not have an established industry standing and a laundry list of records, Rhizomes of Insanity and Fractal Universe would be seen as truly revolutionary. Anyone who has spent any amount of time being passionate about this subgenre will quickly pass this record off as a lesser stepbrother of much more proficient albums.

The one aspect where Fractal Universe is found severely wanting is in the diversity of the vocals. Where vocalist Vince Wilquin shines is when he decides to pull out all the stops and hits us with his death metal growls and screams. In contrast, any variety he attempts to bring into the sound comes off flat and off-putting. He does attempt a wide array of clean vocal styles, ranging from whispers to melodic soaring passages, to semi-screamed vocals, all of which are passable, yet none are particularly stellar. A particular grievance can be held against the use of autotune as a stylizer. Just like every other aspect of Fractal Universe’s sonic arsenal, Obscura did it with greater restraint, and with these flairs, less is always more. Having jarringly mediocre and over-stretched vocal passages thrown at listeners in every song, the entire motif of vocal variety quickly turns to dust.

Not much needs to be said about the mix, other than Rhizomes has a perfectly serviceable progressive metal sound. Every instrument is given its fair share in the limelight and is crisp and discernable, and the acoustic overdubs and strings occupy their own space and are allowed to breathe and shine. No complaints to be found here.

At the end of the day, Rhizomes of Insanity is a solid record, but it suffers from being released in an oversaturated year filled to the brim with other releases which bring more novel elements to the table. Though Fractal Universe is an unquestionably talented band and have proved their musical prowess with Rhizomes of Insanity, they would do well to innovate further to carve out their niche to walk among giants.