“[Maddox Theory] evolved from a regular sound to a world-class sonic fingerprint”
Kamidogu marks a significant change of pace and evolution for Egyptian extreme progressive metal act Maddox Theory from their previous I Am Disorder. As an Egyptian band, one can imagine the cultural turmoil the quintet from the city of the dead has faced, let alone how it evolved from a regular sound to a world-class sonic fingerprint. Because modern progressive metal is so varied and elitist, Maddox Theory impress. Kamidogu is not Animals As Leaders or Tesseract, mind, but technical growth, commitment, and organicity sets this release apart.
Opening tracks “Kamidogu” and “Deadly Dawn” have the needed ingredients to take things seriously: thick riffs, aggressiveness, and competent death-metal/clean-vocal interplay. The cymbals have that inimitable organic sound, but at some point, we wondered where the epic guitar solo was. “Untethered Rage” brings it in, inspired and spot-on. The EP ends perfectly with “Faith”, which reminds us of Savatage, a band we love!
Production has evolved drastically, though a few mixing issues remain, like overly loud cymbals at times and a nearly absent bass line. The overall sound hints at djent or deathcore (it’s not bad, just unusual). Maddox Theory are ripe and ready, and it’s great to see underground circuits in countries unfriendly to metal releasing the quality heard in Kamidogu.
