Style: technical death metal, melodic death metal, progressive death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Inferi, Persefone, The Black Dahlia Murder
Country: United States
Release date: April 10, 2026
The album in question is The Antikytherium by Tethys , a melodic strain of technical death metal, drawing inspiration from melodeath tropes while also adding prog and -core touches. Characterized by a dual-guitar assault and a mix of harsh vocals from Stevie Boiser of Inferi and powerful cleans from guitarist Quinn Broderick, the record gives plenty to talk about over its forty minutes.
The downside of many tech death albums is sonic fatigue after the first twenty minutes or so: let’s be honest, it’s a genre of excess, and a saturated one at that. There are only so many blasts, unstable riffs and frantic leads one can take before dozing off. Although they don’t reinvent wheels, Tethys do a good job of alternating different textures and techniques to keep the listener engaged. An orchestral prologue and epilogue frame the album. “Suzerain” features impressive acoustic guitar passages and most tracks feature prominent clean vocals to complement the harsh notes. Atmosphere and narrative tracks are used effectively on “Grey Matter” and “Final Necropolis”. And piano, strings and synth find their way into many tracks. These changes are appreciated and mostly well incorporated, but at times give the impression of being added for variety or narrative effect rather than as natural parts of the songs. The bridges on the standout tracks, “Suzerain” and “Grey Matter”, for example, offer welcome changes in atmosphere, but are recorded immediately without strong resolutions. Overall, Tethys keeps the songs interesting, though the album doesn’t offer much beyond the usual tech death rulebook.
However, the band relies on melody more than most bands in the genre. The (often harmonic) guitar leads and solos that fill much of the record are likely to make their presence felt. And, even if it was a little annoying on my first listen, “Buying Time” is an unexpected but strong, pure-bred melodeath track with elevated technique. Tethys’s guitarists clearly have a knack for writing melodies, and The Antikytherium is more memorable for it. The drums, too, make their presence felt, often shifting from blast beats into a more open rhythm supported by double bass hit at inhuman speed – a technique straight out of the deathcore playbook. The bass, on the other hand, is buried in the mix time-wise. It pokes out at occasional moments of open space and is solid enough to keep the production from sounding thin, but otherwise it’s hard to follow. Vocally, The Antikytherium is strong: the combined Boiser-Broderick performance is dynamic by genre standards, combining searing but expressive harsh notes, deeper growls and full cleans. The harsh notes, however, can quickly grate on the listener, as phrases very often end with the same prolonged, shrieking scream. The Antikytherium also follows a narrative, obviously, but like everyone who listens to tech death, I didn’t pay attention to the lyrics. I’ll make the safe assumption that they tell some otherworldly science fiction story.
Ultimately, it’s hard to say much else about The Antikytherium . It’s a well-written, well-performed, melodic tech death album—no more, no less. If you’re a tech death fan and want a melodic, approachable entry point to the style, this is it.
Recommended tracks: Suzerain, Grey Matter
You might also like: Exuvial, Carnosus, Synaptic, Buried Realm
Final verdict: 6/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Tethys are:
– Sev Rivera (bass)
– Shea Broderick (drums, piano)
– Cory Medina (guitars)
– Quinn Broderick (guitars, clean vocals)
– Stevie Boiser (vocals)
