The global arms race within the sphere of technical death metal proceeds apace, with many participants striving for nuclear-strength blast fronts of notes and beats moving so fast they challenge comprehension. This makes it more, not less, needful for bands operating in that sphere to do something… different… something not only comprehensible but also imaginative and, well, out of the ordinary.

Which brings us to The Last of Lucy. The last time we hosted a premiere of one of their songs (2 1/2 years ago in the run-up to release of their second album, Moksha) we described it as “an extremely vicious, often unearthly, yet undeniably captivating sonic creature”, “elaborate in its creation of menace and mayhem, and far from commonplace”. Now we all get to see what they’ve done creatively in the intervening time.

What they’ve created is a new album named Godform, which like Moksha is adorned by the artwork of Pär Olofsson, even more jaw-dropping now than before and no less-mind-bending. As you’re about to discover, that’s also true of this California band’s new music. Continue reading »