Eschaton – Techtalitarian
Release Date: 30th May 2025
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Technical Death Metal
FFO: Archspire, Apogean, Changeling, Obscura, First Fragment, Inferi.
Review By: Eric Wilt
Supergroups are fun. Especially when they start out as a mere group, sans the super, and then take six years off and return with, quite possibly, the most stacked line-up of 2025. That’s what Eschaton did, and their line-up now consists of a who’s who of the death metal/tech death metal world. The sole remaining member from Eschaton’s earlier days is founding guitarist Josh Berry. Joining Berry for album number three, Techtalitarian, is current Retromorphosis and Eternity’s End and former Necrophagist and Obscura guitarist Christian Münzner, vocalist Mac Smith of Abyssalis and Apogean and formerly of Alterbeast, Inanimate Existence’s Scott Bradley on bass, and drummer Darren Cesca of Pillory and formerly of Deeds of Flesh and Arsis. It’s a line-up that promises—and delivers—technical brilliance at every turn.
When a band has this many heavy hitters in it, expectations are going to run high, and not surprisingly, Eschaton has, to continue the baseball analogy, hit it out of the park. From the first swirling notes of Inferior Superior to the final blazing seconds of Castle Strnad, the band lays down a blueprint for what a tech death album should be. The guitar work of Berry and Münzner is a relentless assault of sweep picking, tapping, and laser-sharp riffing, executed with near-inhuman precision. Beneath the frenzy, Bradley’s bass holds its ground with thick, percussive clarity, anchoring the chaos while adding its own subtle complexity. While Cesca’s drumming is equally unforgiving—blast beats fire off with machine-like consistency, but never at the expense of groove, Mac Smith’s vocal performance is a tour de force, spanning guttural lows to malevolent highs with ease, adding yet another layer of intensity to an already staggering soundscape.
With Techtalitarian, Eschaton doesn’t just reintroduce themselves—they raise the bar for what modern tech death should be. This is not the sound of a band trying to recapture past glory; it’s the sound of seasoned veterans pushing the genre’s limits with clarity, cohesion, and firepower. It’s rare to hear technicality this blistering fitted so seamlessly to songwriting this good. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer drawn in by the star-studded roster, Techtalitarian is essential listening—an instant genre landmark that proves some comebacks are most definitely worth the wait.
(5 / 5)
