REVOLVER How did the idea for this group come together?
JEROEN PAUL THESSELING Having collaborated with a few progressive metal bands, I thought it would be interesting to work on a different concept in a direction where I have room for improvisation and am able to use other elements of my musical background. I’m interested in recording music that makes me become a better musician. Nufutic is meant to be a fusion-metal-oriented project. Without being a jazz bassist, fusion has always influenced me since I studied at the conservatory. I think it’s a great style to combine with metal and works well with an open-minded approach when it comes to experimental composition techniques. The name Nufutic stands for new future, a “new fusion.”

Starting with the idea to build something unique with experienced musicians, I thought immediately about working with Tommy Talamanca from Italy, who is known for his unique guitar- and keyboard-playing. After we announced drummer auditions, Romain Goulon from France contacted us to find out if we shared the same musical interests, the same vision. He’s used to working with polyrhythms and it appeared that he also had a background in fusion. With the voice of Italian vocalist Trevor (Sadist) we wanted to add something “strangerous” but brutal.

How are you hoping the album will sound when you’re done?
First of all we would like to focus on transparency and dynamics, striving for the characteristics that you often see in a typical fusion production, where even the smallest details, like for example ghost notes, will come out clear and audible. Besides that, we want to work with interesting song structures and strong melodies. This is often a must, but when you write a bit more complex material the listener needs to get a clue for sure. I hope that the compositions will come out in a renewing form with a futuristic touch. When we recently met in the studio, we figured out that while the compositions are going to have a quite experimental approach, the production should have a natural feel and articulation. We want to avoid things that are going to sound too mechanic.

What are some of the most experimental or adventurous things you’re doing in the studio?
Our basic idea is to work with patterns and structures which are built on polyrhythms. Romain is known for his skills using this method, and in Nufutic he literally provides us with the first stones to build compositions. Not only the instruments, but even the vocals could fit in patterns that complete the polyrhythmic based concept. Currently we’re recording long distance, sending each other files with such structures. The ideas need to be exchanged until they get the right form, the right expression, where we all feel comfortable with them.

Another challenge is the balance between all the guitar and keyboard arrangements, as Tommy feels that both instruments need to be recorded as they would be played in a live situation. However, his vision is totally different compared with what another guitarist and keyboard player would have contributed. My bass playing might veer toward the same direction it did the Spheres album, by Pestilence. I’ve never liked the production, but those bass arrangements have always been an important reference for me. Although I already used my 7-string bass with a low F-sharp string in a completely different setup, here it should add more dynamics in my lines.

Who are you working with as a producer? What has he or she contributed?
Tommy and I will take care of the production. He has worked as a producer at Nadir Music in Genova, Italy, for several years. We will probably do the production together, as we both have very clear ideas about how this concept should be worked out.

What excites you most about this band?
The open-minded way of thinking and creating music with other musicians who want to develop. It’s about the compositions, the music. We don’t need auto-friend-adder bots for Facebook or Myspace to make this group look bigger or more popular than it is in reality. It’s also not about recording extremely complicated music with the usual software techniques, which leads to a substantial part of the album turning out to be unplayable in a live situation. Our goal is using the right ingredients and methods to create an original direction in this genre, but not necessarily in an übertechnical or complex form.

When will the album come out and what are your touring plans?
It’s going to take a year, probably early 2013. In the first instance we see Nufutic as a studio project. If everything turns out well we might decide to go out for a series of shows.

For more info, visit nufutic.com.

For the time being, the band are giving fans a taste of what’s in store by streaming one of the tracks on the release, a cover of Death’s “The Flesh and the Power iIt Holds,” recorded last year. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Obscura’s previous release, 2009′s Cosmogenesis, fell much closer to the latter category than the former. On Omnivium, however, Obscura have created an album that, while more challenging than its predecessor, is also more streamlined, focused, and artfully crafted.

Obscura’s influences are blatantly obvious. The stirring fretless bass tone and often jarring, chunky guitar work are pure Atheist, while the vocoder murmurs and ambient touches reek of Cynic. As a result, Obscura’s phenomenally adept crew—which includes former members of Necrophagist and Pestilence—often sound like they were pulled straight from the early ’90s. It makes for an album that is superficially derivative, but is performed and constructed so well as to still come across fresh and exciting.

To its credit, Omnivium never feels as impenetrable as the works of fellow tech-death virtuosos Gorguts (after whose 1998 album Obscura are named), yet the album is deep enough to improve subtly with each listen. Still, even at its best, Obscura’s latest never wows like the classics of the subgenre. This band that once seemed destined for mediocrity has a made a leaps and bounds here, but they still haven’t achieved true greatness. CLARKE READ

Check out “Septuagint” off, Omnivium, below: