Sometimes, a title of an album is intriguing enough that it captures your attention. And that is exactly the case with "The Phobos / Deimos Suite". I mean, come on, such a badass name could not be misguiding… or could it? Once I pressed “Play” a cornucopia of shuddering guitar riffs, licks and shredding, ferocious blast-beats exploded in my ears, along with the usual deep brutal Death growl and weird tempo signatures, spiced with an occasional funky slap bass pulsating through the first song. First impression was okay, nothing different from the well-known brutal technical Death Metal style, a variation of the subgenre which, I have to tell you, I am not very fond of. Nevertheless, amongst the chaotic marasm of sounds, there was something compelling me to proceed and give this band the benefit of the doubt. And so I did. Had I browsed the band before listening to the album and / or writing this review my impressions, criteria and judgement would have been biased. Negatively biased. Luckily for me, I didn’t do the homework. And I say luckily, because I was instantly hooked to this brutal technical Death Metal band from Mexico. Yes, you read that right. Mexico. I am not acquainted to the Mexican Metal scene, but boy oh boy how wrong I have been all these years… will work my ass off to put a remedy to that situation. And SEROCS was the perfect way to start my learning. With their members currently located in Guadalajara, Canada and France, these talented Metallers did one hell of a job to produce a remarkable album with catchy tunes. The hooks and tempo changes in songs such as ‘Nihilus’ and ‘Oneirology’ serve as a perfect balance to the merciless attacks in ‘Being’ and ‘Nonbeing’ (don’t know if that was intentional, though). And if you want to listen to a blend between speed, heaviness and catchiness you may find your way right to ‘Revenants’ or the refreshing accoustic guitar introduction (!) in ‘Lethe’. And the sickly slow ‘Deimos’ is a perfect closer for this album. These Mexican masters of murderous music know their craft, their machinery is precise and their performance is flawless. And this one being their fourth album, SEROCS have certainly challenged themselves to reach new heights (or lows) on their chaotic sound landscape. From the titles and the flow of the whole album you know you are dealing with a conceptual album and the lyrics deal with psychology (the deep psychology probably from a Jungian perspective). The emphasis in themes related to the netherworld, mythology and the Being-Nonbeing thing may be a hint of what the lyrics have to offer. Quite original if you ask me. And for the tip of this razor-sharp riffs collection contained on this album, the cover artwork gives you the impression to be a rendition of the famous Goya paiting of Father Time the titan Cronos devouring his children… but on a closer look it actually is a masterpiece by the Italian artist Nicola Samori whose reputation seems to be on the rise these days. Surely, when it comes to dynamics and versatility, SEROCS deliver the goods. Recommened for fans of brutal technical Death Metal… and for those who, like yours truly, want to enjoy a blend of talent, musicianship and brutality. www.facebook.com/serocsband, www.everlastingspew.com