While it may seem like just noise to some people, making solid death metal is a lot harder than you’d think. Since the expected range of sounds is relatively limited, bands have some pretty rigid constraints to work within — any group that can make something fresh out of these stale ingredients is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Muskegon’s Infinite Design is one of those bands, serving up classic technical/progressive death metal in fresh new ways. More Between the Buried and Me than Pig Destroyer, the band’s particular blend of hooky riffs, mosh-happy breakdowns and furious blastbeats have an invigorating gleam of originality to them, with a smattering of Dream Theater-style noodling and tempo shifts that keep you guessing (and impressed). Guitarist/vocalist Jay Ingersoll and drummer Adam Eklund deserve special mention for their impressive chops.
That isn’t to say the rest of the band falls behind, though. Formed in Muskegon in 2008, they’ve been perfecting their sound the hard way: through years of small-time gigs on the west side of the state. Sharing the vocal duties with Ingersoll in addition to rhythm guitar and keyboards is Larry Passenier, with bassist Nick Modd rounding out the four-piece.
The group’s most recent record Fragments is an interesting release with a lot of good stuff, but the standout here is “The Out Within”, featuring guest vox from Adam Cody (Columns, Wretched). Any fan of death metal, progressive metal, or just plain ol’ heavy metal would do well to check it out.
