With the growing popularity of the very realm of technical death metal, it’s only natural that the very best that have established themselves in the scene years ago would only get better as the years roll on. As one of the greats that have been cultivating the scene into what it has become today, Inanimate Existence is one of those names that has only gotten better with time as any deniers of such truth were left in the dust to waste and perish in obscurity. After five albums, there’s nothing that this band has left to prove to any of us. With their sixth, however, nothing has yet to be left to chance.

What more can be said about this band that has been said already? We could sit here all day and draw connections to Symbolik, Arkaik, and many others before even getting to talk about the talent of Inanimate Existence that has been a massive force in the sound since they first came upon the scene, but there truly isn’t anything quite like observing the immense mastery of this band isolated like a painting whose majesty requires time and keen senses to appreciate wholly. The very same can be said as Inanimate Existence with each release that they’ve put out thus far with the very essence of what they’ve conjured forth for “The Masquerade” being what true mastery is made out of. Whether you find yourself wrapped in the midst of the album’s viciously complex rhythms or the godly musicianship that’s at play in every given minute of these eight tracks, there’s no way to deny that what has been brought forth for this creation is anything short of technical prowess the likes of which we cannot come to expect anything less from the likes of a band as skilled and prolific as Inanimate Existence. Any insinuation otherwise would be to spit in the very face of the reputation that this band has garnered for themselves as well as the mastery that is on constant display for the entirety of this record, and I know damn well that many will not stand for it.

This is definitely one of those records that leaves you wondering as to how else it could’ve possibly come out. How else could Inanimate Existence have pulled off anything short of real wonder and talent? “The Masquerade” is as fascinating as it is expected on many levels, and it finds great company in the discography that these modern legends have crafted for themselves.

LISTEN to “The Masquerade” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Inanimate Existence on Facebook here.