After five years, Memphis, Tennessee’s EPOCH OF UNLIGHT emerge with their best album to date in The Continuum Hypothesis. The band continue to take their style of black/death/thrash to new heights with stronger riffs, improved song arrangements, and more intensity. Wisely, EPOCH OF UNLIGHT avoid the pitfall of so many bands who simply lift riffs from various genres and mesh them together without creating a strong individual, uniform sound. The band twist and blast their way through technically manic riffs and tempos which draw inspiration from everything from ENSLAVED to SLAYER without sounding like either one. Highlights include the blasting fury of “Highgate,” the crushing ending to “Cardinality,” and intense album closer “The Scarlet Thread.” The constant barrage of riffs and tempo shifts could wear the listener down as the album progresses as it’s quite a lot to absorb. The Continuum Hypothesis is definitely one that needs time to sink in. Drummer/main songwriter Tino LoSicco is undoubtedly one of the most talented drummers in extreme metal. Unfortunately, the drums are a tad too low in the mix, which may rob less attentive listeners from fully enjoying his performance. There are a lot of U.S. bands playing a hybrid form of extreme metal with a lot more hype. Do yourself a favor and don’t get EPOCH OF UNLIGHT confused with lesser bands. (The End Records)