Here was one of the most promising up-and-coming young bands in metal fucking going for it, and they pulled it off with aplomb. It was a daring and bold move for such a young band - full-album tours were and still are typically the domain of acts twice their age - but one that was met with great praise for both its audacity and execution. 'Planetary Duality' sees the best aspects of deathcore and death metal unite in a feat of stunning musicianship that, if anything, should bring the two camps closer to each other.The Faceless’ 2008 sophomore album Planetary Duality was such a triumphant success that, after touring in support of it for two entire years, the band decided to headline their own run in late 2009 in which they played the record in full. Although the band's influences are obvious, they play into The Faceless' own tricks as inspiration, not as borrowed elements from those bands. Unlike many deathcore aspirants, 'Planetary Duality' isn't instantly forgettable: it's both extreme and beautiful without ever compromising the unwritten rules of the genre.

Through sci-fi imagery, state-of-the-art production, clever use of melody, and an underlying progressive drive, The Faceless have been able to create an ultra-modern album which is far more accessible than is the norm in the genre. In fact, it's these playful elements á la Between The Buried And Me together with the progressive aspects familiar to fans of Cynic that lift The Faceless from the host of other bands of this type to be shepherds rather than sheep. The sci-fi context in particular is a welcome change to the usual death and gore imagery bands of this kind like to play with, and although the robotic voice that occasionally interrupts the vocalist's guttural growl sounds strange, it never sounds out of place. Keene's virtuosity in not only shredding the shit out of his axe, but in song-writing, too, keeps things interesting throughout. It puts a smile on my face to know that hardcore poster boys with clean haircuts and death metal t-shirts can pull this off better than most grizzly metal dudes who are true to the cause, so to say, and honestly, who gives a fuck if their lifestyles don't reflect the music they make when it's this good.

Yes, the production is clean, and lo and behold, there are some clean vocals here and there, but 'Planetary Duality', like it or not, is first and utmost a technical death metal album and a very good one at that. 'Planetary Duality' comes to a time where deathcore is outpacing death metal, yet despite the fact that everything about this band indicates that they belong in that pack, The Faceless have taken care not to blend in. So fast, that the undersigned had to listen to the opening riff of 'Prison Born' multiple times before admitting that yes, that sound did, in fact, come from shredding on an electric guitar rather than a chainsaw cutting through thick wood, and that he has earned every letter of his pseudonym. The Faceless is the brainchild of guitarist Michael 'Machine' Keene, who reasons that if it no longer suffices to play fast, the solution must be to play even faster. The Faceless Planetary Duality Written by: AP

The faceless planetary duality