Witheria is one of those bands who have progressive elements but don’t shove them to you. Some prog bands do this by unleashing chunky grooves your way, that you either feel nauseated or underwhelmed. At least from what I gathered in Devastating Return, which was actually thrashier than Infinite Recollection. This does not to insinuate recollection is anything less, but it teeters on quasi-prog thrash.
Infinite Recollection has all the hallmarks of a concept album, with how the songs retain their tempo throughout, while letting riffs breathe by serving them at a mindful pace and number. One can experience this with the leads that shuffle between an effective drag and a quickened pace. A song like Interstellar Lessons Received offers two variations of the lead precede its mid-section with a tantalizing effect. After this is a very progressive riffing in the offing, cupping a tremolo insertion before the song ends. With its changing dynamics, as evident in this song, this would encapsulate a concept like a glove. There is already enough nuclear holocaust thrash. Even so, most of them wouldn’t touch the airlock tightness of this by a mile.
When Infinite Velocity kicks in, the drummer matches the intensity of all the chaos and intensity oozing for the better part of a minute. Would easily match George Kollias, if Witheria were dead onset in playing as they play here. This pummeling from all the band’s quarters are what proliferate this track, with its chameleon-like structure shifts. They very much warrant the song lengths on this album, and note that they all are very engaging, far from dull, whilst keeping the thrash edge in the spastic leads.
Isolation is an effort relayed in keeping variety a staple by providing a psychedelic instrumental mid-album, in the most Witheria sounding way possible, because hearing something similar might be a long shot to darkness. A kind of a passage to the next album realm, or a relaxation stop. It works in every aspect. The band keeps it going with the pace changes, at times traversing along slow, mid and sub-fast, all along the multiple chord progression highway. Seems like their average 3-year album wait period really makes them come up with shattering material. Talk of devastating returns!
Their rhythms are composed of reiterated sensationalism in their first portrayal of sound once a track stakes its claim. The leads are tailored around this. And they vary a lot, even taking their given spots rhythmically. Within the Multitude of Slave comes packing some of the intensity packed earlier. On cue is the drummer, who uses these spotlights to have a bargain of the thunder the guitarists are charging. It is also these intense moments that make these sections sound as heavy as death metal. Hell, they basically are Morbid Angel type chaotic and heavy.
Finishing off with the longest number, it starts easily paced like a couple other tracks, while the vocalist, as per the album, sounds like he weaned his voice on death metal, and funnily enough, matches the guitar screeches that are in place of where his sentences end. This is what truly forward-thinking tharsh is all about. There is a place for the riff-oriented thrash pursuant (and the progressions are easy to take), death metal vocals and little sections for the deathrasher, and tastes of groove for those who want some grooviness to their stuff. And if you qualify your prog with some groove, it is not the shitty kind here. It is a grower that never stops giving.
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