Undoubtedly COGNIZANCE share some of the same DNA of iconic death metal bands that have gone before them, and whilst their technical abilities add a more than impressive flourish they operate on a ‘don’t over-complicate for the sake of over-complicating’ rule. Keeping theatrics to a minimum has yielded a lean, progressive, European extreme metal album that embodies the blueprint of old school death metal and embraces both melody and groove.