Metal Underground.com

My first impression of “Entity” was highly negative, entirely because the awesomely processed guitar tone from “Antithesis” was replaced with one that was far more organic sounding. Thankfully, I decided to give “Entity” subsequent listens even if it didn’t have the amazing guitar tone that made me fall in love with Origin back in 2008.

One thing that I appreciate about “Entitiy” is the increased amount of riffs. Everybody knows that Paul Ryan can shred so it's good to know that he can bring the hooks when he needs to. Not that there isn't an abundance of shredding, sweep picking, and pinch harmonics, but there's also a bit more groove on “Entity” which shows a side of Origin that most fans haven't heard before. That fact that songs like “Saliga” and “Evolution of Extinction” are as catchy as Bolt Thrower and Pantera just means that I'll be listening to this album more than the last.

What’s most amazing about “Entitiy” is that the band had no vocalist during the recording of the album. Instead guitarist Paul Ryan and bassist Mike Flores shared vocal duties and did surprisingly well considering that neither of them have much vocal experience. The only real weak point in the vocals happens to be the high screams, which can sometimes be awkward and annoying. The fact that the band hired a new vocalist is actually a somewhat surprising move as Origin can clearly survive without one.

It may be redundant to state but the members of Origin are still amazing musicians and manage to outplay the vast majority of tech bands, while still writing songs that are fun to listen to. Origin not only proves that it has chops but that it can write songs that are actually entertaining to listen to for non-musicians, which puts the group way ahead of most technical bands. While soulless shredders like Dylan Ruskin and Yngwie Malmsteen may gain an audience, they can in no way compare to the duo of Ryan and Flores who manage to interject taste into what they do. The result is that they come across as less clinical and more fun than most shred guitarists and bassists, which may make Origin the metal band that wins over the free jazz crowd.

“Entity” is an amazingly heavy, well-written and surprisingly catchy tech metal album that's more accessible than the band's previous work, while not changing Origin's sound dramatically. If there’s anything that can hold over tech fans until the new Converge album, this is it.