Embryonic Devourment are a death metal band from California whose lyrics are focused on the subject of alien invasion, in particular the topic of "reptoids," a race of lizard-men who are either from space or from deep within the earth and who have (so the story goes) been cross-breeding with humanity for generations, and whose cold-blooded spawn are now many of our society's most powerful figures. Does this matter? Not really; it's technical death metal, which means the focus is on hairpin rhythmic turns, ultra-complex guitar riffing, squealing solos, and the occasional bass break. All of those are present in abundance, which makes the songs blend together somewhat even as the bandmembers' instrumental skill impresses. This isn't catchy music (though tracks like "Gravitational Oblivion" do offer some memorable riffs, and the solos are relatively tasteful), but fans of the genre will find these guys to be very good at what they do, with the lyrics (when they can be deciphered) a somewhat amusing side dish. ~ Phil Freeman