Style: Technical death metal, symphonic metal, neoclassical metal (Harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Fleshgod Apocalypse, Necrophagist, Archspire, Inferi
Country: Colombia
Release date: 11 November 2025

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This year, we’ve spent much time on the blog exploring moderation and its virtues. Take the vaunted Changeling, which my cowriter Zach lauded for its unwavering attention to restraint. Such a piece is the mark of a refined blacksmith: Changeling’s glory is not in the strength of Tom ‘Fountainhead’ Geldschläger’s strikes but in the finesse of his tempering. To wit, the best music is that which weaves subtleties into a grand narrative, crystallizing its core elements into a blah blah blah blah blah WHO CARES. THE YEAR IS OVER AND IT’S TIME THROW ALL THAT SHIT OUT THE WINDOW. WE’RE GOING ALL IN. MUSIC IS NOW ABOUT MORE EVERYTHING FASTER AT ALL TIMES EVERY TIME. ALL GAS, NO BRAKES, BAYBEEEEEEEEEYYYYY!

Recklessly piloting us at breakneck speed is Colombia’s Brainblast. Guitarists Edd Jiménez and Eetu Hernesmaa specialize in a maximalist, hyperactive style of technical death metal mixed with symphonics and a neoclassical baroque streak. You’d be hard-pressed to find a moment on debut release, Colossus Suprema, that isn’t jam-packed with machine-gun drumming, grandiose orchestration fit for a Two Steps From Hell release, and guitar-bass interplay that will, well, blast your brains out. Guest appearances by members of First Fragment, Annihilator, and Vitrified Entity fill out Brainblast’s roster and pose Colossus Suprema as a veritable party bus of tech death prodigies. Jiménez bellows mid-upper-range throaty harshes atop this ensemble, adding an aggressive edge to the already face-melting compositions. Will Jiménez, Hernesmaa, and co. cross the finish line in a Mach 1 blaze of glory, or will Brainblast’s high-speed antics crash and burn?

Even First Fragment, the patron saints of excess, reel themselves in on occasion; save for a moment or two, Brainblast basically never let off the gas across Colossus Suprema. Even the record’s interlude—appropriately named “Interlvdium”—is insane, showcasing virtuosic piano work that glides across stuttering drum patterns. The record’s intro, “Plvs Vltra”, doesn’t engage in any pyrotechnics, but “Legio Æterna” barrels in right after with a full launch into tech-death absurdity. The track’s intensity isn’t entirely convincing at first, but a quick flare of fretless bass before the first verse feels like a sleeper cell activation in my brain where the sole mission is to act like a six year old who just downed an entire energy drink.

The Almighty Riff is the scaffolding that holds together Colossus Suprema’s pieces: much of the listening experience involves vibrating in excitement over the absolutely searing fretwork. “Caelus Elixir” features many of the record’s best riffs, opening with a neoclassical flair before dotting the maximalist tapestry with Obscura-on-steroids melodic stabs. Additionally, the track showcases a rare moment of restraint for Brainblast as a ritardando at the end of the second chorus leads into a smooth fretless bass solo. Discontent to stay at a slower clip, “Caelus Elixir” rebuilds itself with regimented tempo boosts before catapulting full-speed back into its introductory riff; the reprise is a shot of adrenaline administered directly into the eyeballs.

As much as I love Colossus Suprema’s balls-to-the-wall rapid fire, the record would admittedly benefit from pulling off the gas more often. Tuning in to any given moment is sure to get the blood boiling with excitement, but after forty minutes of being launched through the galaxy at light-speed, the details begin to blur and individual tracks become featureless deluges of gleaming excess. “Caelus Elixir” best showcases the power of slowing down: the post-bridge reprise of the intro riff hits like a two-ton truck specifically because the composition is given room to breathe. By the final third of the record, I’m still enjoying individual moments—such as the bass-guitar interplay on “The Golden Ethereal Realm” and “Superior Entity”—but by that point, I’m ready for a cigarette to help me cool down. And I don’t even smoke!

Colossus Suprema may not be the most tempered release you’ve heard all year, but it will most certainly be among the fastest, the most technical, and the most utterly insane. Even at forty minutes, the record feels like a hefty chunk due to its deliciously overkill approach, though it does start to lose steam in its final moments. Do I understand what’s going on at all times when listening to Colossus Suprema? Absolutely not. Am I content to sit there and let it all wash over me in a dazzling technicolor display? You bet your ass I am. Hop in your Koenigsegg Agera, put on Colossus Suprema, and very safely and legally floor it to 300 miles an hour.

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Recommended tracks: Caelis Elixir, Legio Æterna, Relentless Rise
You may also like: First Fragment, Equipoise, Impureza, Virvum, Fleshbore, Symbolik, Aronious, Somnium de Lycoris, Virulent Depravity, A Loathing Requiem
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Facebook | Instagram

Label: Vmbrella Records

Brainblast is:
– Edd Jiménez: guitars, vocals
– Eetu Hernesmaa: guitars
With guests:
– Rich Gray: bass
– Dominic Forest Lapointe: bass
– Nicholas Le Fou Wells: drums
– Alice Simard: guitars