Whilst you may not of heard of Linus Klausenitzer, as a self respecting Death Metal fan, you surely would have heard of Obscura, the German prog-death masters who were responsible for the awesome “Akróasis” and “Diluvium” in the mid 2010’s. Since then bass player Klausenitzer has established himself as something of a death metal bass virtuoso and now he’s ready to unleash “Tulpa” into an unsuspecting world.

It’s a pulsating ride that kicks off rather deceivingly with a gentle bit of guitar on King of Hearts before a pummelling riff batters you to the end, only letting up for some Amon Amarth style battle chanting, which is never a bad thing. As you would expect, “Tulpa” is very bass driven, but the differing tones that Linus is able to produce make it an engrossing listen. “Our Soul Sets Sail” slows down the pace somewhat with a bass driven groove making way for some stellar guitar work while “Sword Swallower” returns to basic death metal standards with a some frantic fret work, accompanying punishing double bass drums. Quickly countering that is the very proggy “Sister In Black”. No vocals required here as the bass tells you everything you need to hear, dragging you through the emotions at the same time. Klausenitzer drops in and out between searing death metal and impressive bass noodling on “The Devil’s Tongue” while “Queen Of Hearts almost delves into thrash territory. Before he goes Linus takes on another journey with the epic “Lunar Assailant”, where all the elements in his repertoire combine to glorious effect.

If you are a fan of bands like Cynic and Decapitated then “Tulpa” should definitely be on your to buy list. Klausenitzer bass, sounds like a turbine in a big machine at times, but can switch to telling you a beautiful story at the droop of the hat. In Linus Klausenitzer, the Death Metal world has it’s own Geddy Lee….Chris Andrews