I’m sure I’m not the only one who knows how bad “progressive death metal” can be. I’ve heard countless OPETH worshippers whose music sounds like a huge mess because the heavy passages in their songs don’t mix well with whatever “experimentation” they’re supposed to and are half-assed at best, and the lighter passages sound like an excuse for the band to sound sensitive or sophisticated. Fortunately, in BIOLICH, we may have an exception…

As I was doing my pre-listen reading up on these guys, the fact that BIOLICH named themselves partially after obscure Finnish death metal band DEMILICH kind of worried me. Then I listened to both bands. (Note: You can download DEMILICH’s sole album in its entirety off their website. Are they insane? Sounds like it!) Luckily, the only real similarity in sound seems to be the super-low indiscernible growls…think “the low voice” of CARCASS and all its rip-offs. Musically, BIOLICH plays their grind in standard tuning a la THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN. I was quite impressed by the range that the metal part of their sound actually had. I heard a good amount of thrash, death and hardcore—meaning that beyond trying to “break new ground” or whatever, these guys are actually true metal fans. Vocalist Will Smith (no, not that Will Smith) switches up the vocals in a few spots and in the only clean vocal spot on this EP, which is just a few seconds in opening track “Morals Like Frozen Piss”, he sounds a hell of a lot more haunting than whiny. Even the electronic track “Ikon Sumo”, which is reminiscent of modern ULVER, fits surprisingly well on here and doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.

- Cardona

OFFICIAL SITE: http://biolich.com/

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