EP Review: Owdwyr – Receptor (Instrumental Edition) (Self Released)

Technical death metal innovators OWDWYR have celebrated the one-year anniversary of their critically acclaimed debut album, ‘Receptor’, by releasing an instrumental edition. The instrumental edition will allow fans to delve deeper into the intricate arrangements and complex instrumentation that make Receptor such a groundbreaking work.

Released on October 20th, 2023, ‘Receptor’ was a very special album, and showcased OWDWYR’s incredible combination of extreme metal, tech death, prog, and grind framed around a classical core, perfectly.

I loved it, describing it as:

Stupendously creative, absurdly diverse, confidently insightful, and so much more. Don’t balk at the fact that it is fifteen tracks long, balk at the fact that it’s not longer. Such is the amazing amount of variety on show.

It ended up being number 14 in my top albums of the year (in a very strong year too), so it should come as no surprise to learn that I absolutely love this instrumental version too. In the review for the original album, I suggested that you should grab a pencil and some paper, as you were going to be taking some notes while you listen to the album. Such was the immense detail within in.

Guess what? You’re going to need a pencil and some paper again, especially, as now, without vocals, even more intricate detail is unveiled. Detail steeped in technical death brutality, fantastical progressive twists, grinding and gnashing horror, and extravagant classical turns. Again, how all of this is mashed together and how elegant OWDWYR are about it, is what makes Receptor so special.

The album begins combining the intro of Praefatio with the original first full track on the album, The Liminal Carapace. From dreamy sci-fi infused tones to an absolute explosion of frenetic force that can best be summed up as the most unforgettable kind of hysteria and carnage. The sophistication of the orchestral layers, so much more prevalent here, and the shimmering heaviness that constantly vibrates with intensity, is stunning.

Get used to hearing words like that though, especially as Ein is next and is OWDWYR at their most excessive and experimental. The oddness of the keys at the start and how dreamily they transition into a wild and dynamic soundscape is very cool, yet, as this track goes on, it only gets better… and madder. By the end, your head will be spinning and the paper you’ve been taking notes on will be filled with ravings and ramblings that make little sense.

That’s because so much of what OWDWYR do makes little sense, until it all makes complete sense. See? Ravings and ramblings. It’s just the effect this band, and this album, has on all of us.

The unforgettable nature of the original record and the immense vocals isn’t forgotten in favour of this release (and is still preferable), but as an addition and fresh way to hear some of the tracks, there’s nothing to complain about here. Especially when we can enjoy a cacophony of chaos with Supplicant, a medley of artistic melody with Reverie, and a blistering, bruising, and brutal blast of brilliance with Pitchtongue Vesper. While these are all fairly short and succinct listens, they are so complex and require so many listens to fully take in, that the short length is a hardly an issue.

Finally, and so damn satisfyingly, it’s The Sputtering Torch, a track with a lavish cinematic introduction. Then, with a crashing of guitar and drums, the tempo heats up and things suddenly seem a lot more vigorous. Yet, this is a melody-focused track, and those layers run deep. Hell, at times, there’s post-like atmosphere in it. Incredible stuff.

That’s two years in a row that OWDWYR have delivered something truly unforgettable.

OWDWYR – Receptor (Instrumental Edition) Track Listing:

1. Praefatio / The Liminal Carapace
2. Ein
3. Supplicant
4. Reverie
5. Pitchtongue Vesper
6. The Sputtering Torch

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