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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- Downloads - Singularity Viewer - December 25th, 2016 [December 25th, 2016]
- What is Singularity (the)? - Definition from WhatIs.com - January 5th, 2017 [January 5th, 2017]
- When Electronic Witnesses Are Everywhere, No Secret's Safe - Singularity Hub - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Report: AMD Ryzen Performance in Ashes of the Singularity Benchmark - PC Perspective - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Do you believe in the Singularity? - Patheos (blog) - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Editorial Note From the Singularity Hub Team - Singularity Hub - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Discover the Most Advanced Industrial Technologies at Exponential Manufacturing - Singularity Hub - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- 10th Letter looks at nature in the time of the Singularity - Creative Loafing Atlanta - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Donald Trump Is the Singularity - Bloomberg View - Bloomberg.com - Bloomberg - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Wearable Devices Can Actually Tell When You're About to Get Sick - Singularity Hub - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- AMD 8-core Ryzen benchmark show up on Ashes Of The Singularity ... - VR-Zone - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Robot Cars Can Teach Themselves How to Drive in Virtual Worlds - Singularity Hub - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Physicists Unveil Blueprint for a Quantum Computer the Size of a Soccer Field - Singularity Hub - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- How Robots Helped Create 100000 Jobs at Amazon - Singularity Hub - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Ready to Change the World? Apply Now for Singularity University's 2017 Global Solutions Program - Singularity Hub - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Singularity Containers for Science, Reproducibility, and HPC - Linux.com (blog) - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Families Finally Hear From Completely Paralyzed Patients Via New Mind-Reading Device - Singularity Hub - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- artificial intelligence: the fear of a technological singularity ... - ETtech.com - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Holograms Aren't The Stuff of Science Fiction Anymore - Singularity Hub - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- How the World Has Changed From 1917 to 2017 - Singularity Hub - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Preparing for the Singularity - Inverse - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Our Health Data Can Save Lives, But We Have to Be Willing to Share - Singularity Hub - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Ashes of the Singularity merges with standalone expansion Escalation, no upgrade fee - PCGamesN - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Just Stand Inside this Room and it Will Wirelessly Charge Your Phone - Singularity Hub - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
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- Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation being merged with the original game - PC Invasion (blog) - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Singularity - GameSpot - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- The roots of technological singularity can be traced backed to the Stone Age - Wired.co.uk - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Jide's new OS is like an Android version of Windows 10's Continuum - The Verge - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- Jide Announces Remix Singularity: The Continuum Alternative for Android - XDA Developers (blog) - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- New Tech Makes Brain Implants Safer and Super Precise - Singularity Hub - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- One Android company wants to use smartphones to make PCs truly dead - BGR - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Remix tries its hand at the mobile-desktop hybrid OS with Singularity - Android Police - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Financial Leaders: Make Your Mark on the Future at Exponential Finance - Singularity Hub - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Remix Singularity is Jide's Android answer to Windows Continuum - SlashGear - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- AMD Radeon RX 580 Ashes of the Singularity Benchmarks Leaked 4K, Ryzen Combo, CrossFire and More! - Wccftech - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Damon Wayans Jr. Joins FX Sci-Fi Comedy Singularity - Den of Geek US - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- After Man? From Singularity to Specificity - Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) (press release) (blog) - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Why the Potential of Augmented Reality Is Greater Than You Think - Singularity Hub - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Damon Wayans Jr In Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen AI comedy - /FILM - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Ashes of Singularity: Escalation Gets an Update - CGMagazine - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Google Updates: Scuba, Singularity, SMS and suing - The INQUIRER - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- Singularity Art Show Tonight In San Francisco! - February 25th, 2017 [February 25th, 2017]
- Stardock celebrate v2.1 of Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation with a ... - PCGamesN - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Video: AI Is Getting Smarter, Says Singularity University's Neil ... - Wall Street Journal (subscription) (blog) - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- This Neural Probe Is So Thin, The Brain Doesn't Know It's There - Singularity Hub - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Citizen Science Means Anyone Could Discover Planet NineEven You - Singularity Hub - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Singularity University establishes new organisation in Denmark - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Singularity University opening organisation in Denmark - The Copenhagen Post - Danish news in english - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Does Zapping Your Brain Actually Help You Learn Faster? - Singularity Hub - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- What You Need to Know About Elon Musk's Plan to Fly People to the Moon - Singularity Hub - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Singularity: Explain It to Me Like I'm 5-Years-Old - Futurism - Futurism - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Singularity for PC Reviews - Metacritic - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- Singularity (mathematics) - Wikipedia - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- See How This House Was 3D Printed in Just 24 Hours - Singularity Hub - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- NYC's Metrograph theater is running a sci-fi film series featuring Blade Runner, Ex Machina, and Metropolis - The Verge - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- 3 Exciting Biotech Trends to Watch Closely in 2017 - Singularity Hub - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- New Burger Robot Will Take Command of the Grill in 50 Fast Food Restaurants - Singularity Hub - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- Are These Giant Neurons the Seat Of Consciousness in the Brain? - Singularity Hub - March 10th, 2017 [March 10th, 2017]
- How Fully Synthetic Complex Life Just Got a Lot Closer - Singularity Hub - March 12th, 2017 [March 12th, 2017]
- Singularity University launches inaugural Canada Summit | BetaKit - BetaKit - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Singularity - Everything2.com - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Singularity (Game) - Giant Bomb - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation on Steam - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Approaching the World of Collaboration Singularity - CommsTrader - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Berkeley Lab's Open-Source Spinoff Serves Science | Berkeley Lab - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Beyond Politics: Innovating for a Sustainable Future - Singularity Hub - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Tune Into the Future of Fintech at Exponential Finance This Week - Singularity Hub - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Experts Weigh in on AI and the Singularity - Futurism - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Singularity | Mass Effect Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- Quantum Computers Will Analyze Every Financial Model at Once - Singularity Hub - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Deloitte and Singularity University Extend Their Relationship To ... - PR Newswire (press release) - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation 2.3 update adds a new campaign today - PC Gamer - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Singularity and Docker | Singularity - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Ashes of the Singularity gets a new fully-voiced campaign - PCGamesN - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- At Exponential Finance, the Singularity University Explores Visionary Applications of Blockchains - Crypto Insider (press release) (blog) - June 9th, 2017 [June 9th, 2017]
- Get It While It's Hot: Why Fintech Is a Goldmine for Investors - Singularity Hub - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]
- Forget Police Sketches: Researchers Perfectly Reconstruct Faces by Reading Brainwaves - Singularity Hub - June 14th, 2017 [June 14th, 2017]
- Singularity Summit comes to SA | IT-Online - IT-Online - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- These 7 Disruptive Technologies Could Be Worth Trillions of Dollars - Singularity Hub - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]