Style: Progressive death metal, progressive black metal, dissonant death metal, technical death metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Ulcerate, Gorguts, Imperial Triumphant, Immolation
Country: United States (Virginia)
Release date: 13 November 2026

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With the departure of Will Smith, the gurgle-king himself, the progressive dissonant/technical death metal group Artificial Brain undergo forced evolution in their fourth LP, Antillia. Attempting to replace a cornerstone of a band’s sonic trademark is an insurmountable obstacle for many. Should the newcomer attempt to replicate the fallen’s beloved traits or boldly inject their own? Stepping into Smith’s absence is Mike Paparo, the bestial vocalist of Virginia’s death/sludge act Inter Arma. As if filling the sewage-dripping shoes of Smith wasn’t enough, Antillia also features the newcomer Alex Tomlin on the drums as well. So much change! Why can’t things stay exactly how they are forever!?

For those brainiacs that have lost sleep over Smith’s departure, let’s lay your worries to rest: Paparo delivers the best death metal vocal performance of 2026 in Antillia. Smith’s gurgly vocals, a trademark across his many excellent projects, tended to sink underneath the instrumentation in Artificial Brain’s 2022 self-titled album, at times drifting out of earshot. In Antillia, Paparo’s cavernous death growls feel omnipresent, cascading from all angles and enveloping the listener completely. Paparo often layers higher pitched shrieks amongst his esophageal bellowing, adding dynamics to his utterly powerful performance. Many death metal vocalists sacrifice the ferocity of their delivery when incorporating various pitches; Paparo’s voice, though, remains formidable across his varied approaches. In Antillia, Paparo chronicles nine tales of humanity succumbing to various cosmic horrors, planting the seeds of dread in the bowels of every listener with his monstrous delivery.

Guitarists Dan Garguilo and Oleg Zalman have consistently and masterfully crafted utterly dense yet inviting compositions across Antillia. Surrounding Artificial Brain’s core of progressive death and sideways black metal are tendrils of dissonance and surprisingly tender layers of melody. Antillia offers a choose your own adventure listening experience with each spin depending on whether attention is focused on Garguilo, Zalman, or bassist Samuel Smith. Each of the three stringed instruments continuously swirl around the track’s central theme without replicating or mirroring each other. Rather, each guitar and bass has a distinct, yet vital voice to Artificial Brain’s soundscape. The guitar leads of “Quantum Malignancies” and “Solar Ark” emerge from Paparo’s growls like an ocean wave, cresting and being gracefully absorbed by the surrounding dissonant melodies. Antillia is wonderfully paced without a stale moment thanks to the continuous incorporation of novel approaches, like the concluding acoustic guitar-layered melodies of “Deciphering the Anachronistic Tongues” and the mesmerizing rhythmic hum behind the main theme of closer “Antillia (In Chromatic Aberratoin)”.

From the introductory mammoth pounding of opener “The Wandering Star Prion”, Tomlin wastes no time declaring his presence from behind the drumkit. His fierce blastbeats and relentless doublebass propel the dynamic strings forward, while his ability to effectively shift tempo on a dime perfectly compliments the diverse compositions. A key facet to Artificial Brain’s aural character in Antillia is the superimposement of slow, lumbering string melodies alongside Tomlin’s relentless up-tempo drumming. When coupled with Paparo’s all-encompassing growl, this approach is blissfully suffocating. Throughout Antillia, Tomlin executes a chaotic and technical drumming performance that fills the album with a menacing air without overpowering the multifaceted surrounding instrumentation.

While 2022’s Artificial Brain suffered from a muddied production that kneecapped the ability to decipher the melodic layering, Antillia has an exceptionally clear and balanced mix, allowing for every nuance and delicate detail to be appreciated. This allows Artificial Brain to build and sustain a consistent eerie atmosphere through incorporation of novel elements like the subtle backing synthetic organ in “Solar Ark” and Wormed-like otherworldly vocal effects in “Obsidian Agents”. 

Antillia certainly rewards the patient listener, as the album’s subtleties and nuances reveal themselves with repeated listens. Though lined with a dynamic ferocity, the delicate melodies of Antillia consistently shine through, resulting in a not-so-subtle pull to return time and time again. Sonically adventurous and wonderfully paced with masterful performances across the board, Antillia is a remarkable achievement by Artificial Brain and will be hard to top for the best progressive death album of 2026.

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Recommended tracks: The Wandering Star Prion, Obsidian Agents, Cosmic Death Church
You may also like: Replicant, Inter Arma, Pyrrhon, Wormhole, Wormed
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Profound Lore Records

Artificial Brain is:
– Mike Paparo (vocals)
– Dan Gargiulo (guitar)
– Oleg Zalman (guitar)
– Samuel Smith (bass)
– Alex Tomlin (drums)
With guests:
– Doug Moore (vocals on track 1)
– Paulo Paguntalan (vocals on tracks 2 and 7)
– Andrea Collaro (vocals on track 5)
– Kevin Hufnagel (lead solo on track 4)