Playgrounded - The Death Of Death

Greece has spawned countless instances of criminally underrated music acts in diverse genres ranging from black metal to electronic to avant garde pop music, and the sophomore al- bum of modern progressive metal act PLAYGROUNDED titled `The death of Death' is yet another striking example. Starting out in 2007, PLAYGROUNDED have been together for over 15 years, playing both national and international tours, while also opening for bands like Riverside and Anathema and even Nine Inch Nails in Amsterdam. Their first EP Athens (2012, Casket Music) portrays an already mature band playing modern prog rock influenced by Tool and Deftones. Their debut full-length In Time With Gravity (2017) shows the band in full flux, experimenting with extended compositions as well as influences from influential contemporary electronic music acts like Modeselektor and Moderat. PLAYGROUNDED's sophomore album lives up to the aspiration of its lofty album title. The death of Death is music that results from mastery rather than lacklustre exploration and experimentation. The album was recorded at MD Recording Studios by Nikos Michalodimitrakis, long collaborator of Stavros in film productions. Mixing was handled by C.A.Cederberg (Leprous, Anathema, Shining, and more) in Kristiansand, NO, while the album was mastered by George Tandero (Madrugada, Satyricon, Jaga Jazzist, and more) in Oslo, NO. TDOD is a collection of songs that reveal PLAYGROUNDED as composers in the act of decomposition. The memorable guitar riffs and vocal melodies serve as gateways to a deeper layer of glitchy synth textures and liquid drumming, until the perspective of radical decomposition consumes one whole. "The shortest sound units become extended themes," explains main composer Orestis Zafeirou. "Steady rhythmical blocks interact with unstable ones. Noise becomes tone and melody. Sonic grains gather to form masses, masses dissolve into a single entity. With every repetition, comes change."