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Alarum have long been at the forefront of interesting progressive death metal in Australia. Early albums took their lead from Cynic and Atheist, blending a grinding death metal style with jazz. But Alarum were singularly their own entity, with no interest in being copyists.Each release since then has seen a progression in style and attitude as they have further developed and experimented beyond those early influences. In that regard, Recontinue is both familiar and an extension of what has gone before, an aptly titled continuation of the direction they’ve taken since Natural Causes.
Acoustics lead the way into Introspective, not quite lasting long enough to create a false impression before opening up into a long extended jam prefacing the unpredictable nature of Recontinue. In much the same way as previous albums, this one keeps its audience guessing with explosions of angular riffs, off-kilter arrangements, non-linear songwriting and wildly intricate guitar solos that wind through long, jazzy sections.
Tracks like A Lifelong Question explore a classic rock direction, an almost loose vibe counterbalanced by the volatile miasma of Zero Nine Thirty and its constant mood changes or the hyperspeed chameleonic Unheard Words. Into Existing brings the rock back for a moment or two, then shatters into staccato, off-time insanity., atmospherics and menace in equal abundance.
That’s the hallmark Alarum style – clean, dazzling jazz runs and breakdowns sharply and suddenly contrasted with dizzying bursts of death metal ferocity, a clash between dark violence and introspection with little thought to any kind of traditional structure. On paper it sounds like a haphazard, misaligned mess of conflicting ideas, but Alarum is far too skilled a band for that. Their musical twists and turns never sound contrived, just mindbending explorations of a vast creative palette. Recontinue is sometimes jarring and certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste, but those who enjoy progressive, forward-thinking heavy metal will find a lot to like.