Inhumanity Vortex started life in Poland in 2008 as the project of Tomasz Dziekoński and has slowly evolved over time into a sort of cyber tech-death metal band that has grown beyond the initial seeds of inspiration from those early days. Having released a handful of pre-production demos and EPs prior to Reverse Engineering in the winter of 2020, Inhumanity Vortex have finally realised the vision of its creator and by including other musicians to handle vocals, drums, bass and keyboards, Dziekoński has been able to concentrate on the guitars and bringing his inspirations to his own sound. It’s not clear if he wrote the other parts/lyrics but on previous releases he has done everything and it’s not outside of the realm of possibility that the rest of the band were asked to bring the precision that Dziekoński needed to execute this EP in a more polished and professional manner.
It’s a move that certainly paid off as Reverse Engineering is quite impressive in its futuristic, cybernetic structures. Lech Fiedorczyk’s vocals add depth while Kévin Paradis (also of Benighted) offers tightly rhythmic drums and creativity to the record. “Cybermod” opens the EP on frantic drum patterns and Fiedorczyk’s guttural vocal performance brings a sense of aggression to proceedings. The song is an intense start and one that sets the stage for the kind of technical death metal that is engaging, rather than headache inducing. There’s enough separation between the moving parts to create discovery — the dissonance of the guitars is just enough to present off-kilter riffs without tipping over into chaos and the vocals are delivered in a clear, albeit rough, manner.
Instrumental tracks are not usually expected when it comes to death metal yet Inhumanity Vortex offer just that on “Through the Infinite” which revels in its exploration of sound with layered synthesisers, curious time signatures and driving beats creating distinct melodies and an subtle beauty in its closing moments. Inhumanity Vortex may have taken their time in getting together a solid sound that speaks to their inspirations (think Obscura or Cynic) and moves them into their own realm of technical death metal. Reverse Engineering is a great (re)start for this band and is an EP that will hopefully push their name out there.
