France Has Entered the Chat
Is it just me, or does France keep quietly delivering death metal that the rest of the world takes way too long to notice? Gojira proved it. Now The Scalar Process is proving it again. I’ve been watching these guys since I discovered them, waiting on Agnomysticism to drop — and boy did they deliver.
If you’re a fan of Fallujah or Rivers of Nihil, this is right up your alley. Technical progressive death done right — atmospherics, fluid songwriting, complex rhythms, intense vocals — but in a way that doesn’t immediately make you think you’re listening to another copycat. That’s the hard part. They nail it. Agnomysticism is the band’s sophomore record, following their 2021 debut Coagulative Matter, and the growth is impossible to miss.
The album opens with “Physical Conquest,” and it does exactly what a great opener should: build through sweeping atmospherics, then dump you straight into the fray with winding guitars, blast beats, and vocals that will make you sit up. The track keeps evolving — clean vocal passages, melodic turns — without ever letting up in intensity. The closing riff alone gets you excited for what’s coming next. It’s not just a good opener. It’s a statement.
“Incessant Continuum” could have opened the album and I wouldn’t have argued. The riffs are genuinely top-notch — the kind that keep pulling you back — and those haunting clean vocals? That’s Andy Thomas from Rivers of Nihil guesting. You can tell immediately why they called him. They’re placed in a way that feels completely organic, never forced.
“Affluent Marea” earns its spot in the middle of the record. Jazzy, unhurried, outstanding songwriting — the moment the album takes a breath before the next assault. I can already picture it live: the point in the set where the pit gets to catch its breath before the next wave. And then “A Breathing Moment” comes in — great title, completely false advertising — hooks you from the first bar with riffs that refuse to let go and time signature changes that keep you permanently on your toes. The irony is not lost.
The title track lands at number seven, which you almost never see. It works. By that point in the album you already know what you’re getting, and what you’re getting is exactly that level of tech prog death. My only actual complaint: the closer doesn’t go out with the epic statement a record this good deserves. Give us a masterpiece to close it out. Minor gripe. Outstanding album.
Agnomysticism is going to be on repeat for quite some time. It’s exactly the kind of release that makes you glad bands like this are still out there doing it.
Score: 8.5/10