Review by Nathan on February 21, 2020.

Continuum is a tech-death half supergroup that I should probably like more than I do. This side-project features member of Deeds of Flesh and Allegaeon among a few others, and right from the start it's clear that these guys have a lot of natural ability. The riffs are a bouncy, sweepy mix of consistent noodling that rarely lets up, with a very clean, clinical feel to the tapping and note bends. You could like it to a robot from 100 years in the future attempting to imitate the sound of The Black Dahlia Murder: there's a similar high-low duality in the vocals and a lot of the riffs seem to use scales common in melodic death metal, but there's just an extra dollop of...roboticism to the whole mix.

Because this doesn't focus on abrasive, textured melody and instead tries to go for more of a "systematic dissection by music theory" approach, The Hypothesis comes across as a rather discernible release compared to some of the more wacky death metal in a similar style, - even Allegaeon themselves have a good deal more diversions into proggier moments. The riffs convulse with a remarkable amount of fretboard activity, but it's carefully placed to the point where it doesn't overwhelm you. Each aspect of this full-length was tinkered to be methodical in its execution and the with the absence of a lot of dissonance or breakdowns, this doesn't sound particularly "menacing" in the way death metal usually should. It basically just sounds like Allegaeon if they wanted to be a tech-death band, and while I enjoy that band a great deal for what they are, I more listen to them for the insatiably catchy forays into lovely prog arpeggios - I don't listen to them to be slowly disassembled by a robot.

I dunno, I guess I'm just not seeing the purpose for Continuum's formation. They're kind of in a sweet spot where they're melodic, but not enough to be melodic death metal, and they're missing that off-the-wall vibe that I usually associate with tech death. There's a lot of stuff that's vaguely interesting, but it doesn't entice me enough to want more, and the somewhat sterile and clicky drum production is a bit of turnoff from the outset. In a genre that's becoming saturated with even more overwhelming speed and mindboggling musicianship, it's tough for a band like Continuum to stand out among the pack.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10