Linus Klausenitzer - Tulpa (2023)

Delivering over 52 minutes of intricate Technical/Progressive Death Metal, today we have German virtuoso Linus Klausenitzer. As one of the best 6-string fretless bass guitar players (the other has to be Jeroen Paul Thesseling), Linus manages to craft ten very engaging, and diverse tracks, that while they always highlight his staple instrument, they are very well rounded with tons of guest guitar solos, variety of vocal styles, and Hannes Grossmann on drums. If you like proggy/jazzy extreme metal, and are a fan of bands like Obscura, Obsidious, etc. this release will blow you away.

Opening with acoustic guitars and quickly jumping into incisive riffs, “King of Hearts” sets the stage for a very engaging and crafty release. The bass guitar lines are superb, as to be expected, but instead of just banking on this ability, Linus has composed very intricate tracks like “Axiom Architect”, and the extremely catchy “Our Soul Sets Sail”, which has a certain Soilwork-esque vibe. Other pieces like “Sister in Black” are quite playful and exploratory, creating a sultry atmosphere, while delivering insane technical proficiency.

Far from just being your traditional technical wankery of just playing as fast and as many notes as possible, songs like “The Devil’s Tongue” and “Queen of Hearts” keep things interesting with elaborate tempo changes, hefty doses of melody, and of course, some definitely a good dose of technical proficiency. We like the jazzier side of things presented in songs like “Dig Deeper”, which swallows the listener with a very restrained and elegant atmosphere.

As the release closes with the dreamy “Lunar Assailant”, we are left quite satisfied with how epic and well crafted this release is. Every track has its own magic and plenty of little details to discover, Linus Klausenitzer is no doubt a great musician and this release also shows he has plenty of chops to create music that focuses on his strengths while exploring different angles and directions. If you are a fan of the genre, this is a very worthy addition to your collection.

Label: AOP Records

Release: October 6th, 2023

Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal

Country: Germany