There are many cases of high-class musical chemistry, but that of Dylan Marks and Adam Wollach is one of the best to emerge from the packed San Diego scene. Fermentor, their longest running partnership, is a band that dares to defy listeners expectations of what instrument metal can be. After experimenting on two EPs and a demo, the duo are finally ready to announce their first full-length, entitled “Continuance,” ready to enter the fray once more.
Kicking off on “The Stench,” there’s no hanging around as riffs whizz past like bullets and the drums fire off into hyper-speed. Wollach’s blend of styles is fascinating: at parts it draws from “Dysrhythmia and Behold…” the Arctopus in all their tech-death glory; in others there are hints of the extreme end of thrash à la Revocation; further still, there moments of jazzy fusion (such as on “Thunderboss”) to throw the listener off the scent, before the track then dives back into technical chaos. Meanwhile, Marks is ferocious and relentless on his kit as he blasts and rolls, though naturally there are plenty of more technical moments to dazzle as well. As is tradition, Continuance contains a film sample, this time a playful reference to UK show Peep Show that sets the tone for the ominous “Project Zeus” as the two guys barrel on through the finish line.
One thing that is constant, however, is the steady improvement across each release in the audio quality. Continuance sounds sharp and crisp in no small part due to Wollach’s production work – aided by Dale Holland at K St Recordings and Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, and this is one contributing factor to the record’s high level of replayability.
“Continuance” will undoubtedly be of interest to all who appreciate forward-thinking music of a technical and progressive nature. Fermentor have struck the ball out of the park on this one, and it is guaranteed to garner them a lot of attention.
Fermentor are:
Dylan Marks – drums
Adam Wollach – guitar
Read our review here.
