Antipathy is a 5-piece band out of New York featuring the talents of Max Kouznetsov (vocals), Danny Wahlberg and Luke Celente (guitars), John Zenecky (bass), and Alex Ghersini (drums). Removal Of The Mind is the bands third release and 2nd EP, and it comes to us after a couple of line up changes that put the band on hold for a short time. Considering this band is still without a label I must say I’m very impressed with this 4 song EP as it’s been in my vehicle stereo non-stop since I received the promo (sure the new Ajattara and Kamelot releases got some play too, but Removal Of The Mind has been in there a lot).

The music of Antipathy is simple, yet it’s not. There is nothing overly fancy to their brand of Death Metal but there is definitely a technical flair that shows up in the rhythms and song structures every so often. It is subtle but when you really start to listen to these 4 songs you begin to notice some chaotic and crazy drumming (slight memories of Mastodon’s latest release were brought to mind in regards to the style) and some very tight riff and tempo changes that occur on a regular basis. No, the band isn’t near as chaotic as Cryptopsy, but Antipathy never ride the same tempo or riff for very long and that’s a large part of their appeal. And since Antipathy do not go overboard or over indulge themselves the songs are still very listenable and for the most part memorable.

The tone of the guitars are very heavy and loud in the mix, in fact, the production almost sounds like Suffocation’s first EP, which is classic in my opinion. For an independent release you couldn’t really ask for more as far as the production but to be constructive, sometimes the riff was lost in the chaos and “loudness”, but that’s a minor gripe. The bass is audible and is also very well played and the drums sound good. The vocals are a now somewhat common mix of deep and mid-range growls. Both styles are well done but it wouldn’t hurt for the vocalist to perhaps tone down his abrupt changes, especially since I really prefer his deep growl, but, as always, this is a personal preference as opposed to a complaint.

There are certain instances on Removal Of Mind where I can hear the band starting to move into a style of their own; likewise, Antipathy’s sound is mixed with nods to Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, and even some mid-period Death occasionally- and of course, there is nothing wrong with some Suffocation or Death influences. Some song writing surprises show up, too, including an insanely catchy and crushing mid-section on Devoid and a well-played melodic lead near the end of the title track. Another thing I really liked about this CD is the lack of blasts. Most newer Death Metal bands tend to combine Grind and throw in a ton of blast beats… sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s nice to hear a band not rely on blasts but still maintain a high level of intensity and violence.

Like so many unsigned bands out there today Antipathy is a band that definitely deserves a contract, but I think they might have to self-finance a full-length before that happens and I hope they can keep up the same level of mature and interesting song writing present on these 4 songs over an entire full-length, but that remains to be seen. Death Metal fans should definitely keep their ears open for Antipathy. Any of their releases can be purchased on their website and some songs can be downloaded as well, one of which is Lost from this release, which in my opinion is the weakest and least technical track on the CD but it does have a really cool heavy-as-fuck break around the middle… you’ll know it when you hear it.