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SPECIES
Changelings

20 Buck Spin (2025)
Rating: 8.5/10

The press release for this release from Polish thrashers Species is such a joy to read as the author describes Changelings “…as if John Carpenter had co-produced Rust In Peace (Megadeth) behind the iron curtain”. Continuing to quote, the statement mentions how the album is “…bristling with sci-fi paranoia, alien terror and a hint of Cold War menace”.

Changelings is a marked improvement on 2022 debut album To Find Deliverance, somewhat drizzled with dystopian sombreness which provides a grey fog over an otherworldly forward-thinking thrash assault. The trio of Piotr Drobina (vocals and bass), Michał Kępka (guitar) and Przemysław Hampelski (drums) are a rather technical clan whose wizardry results in a sonic saga like ten-minute closer ‘Biological Masterpiece’, an accomplished and extravagant piece awash with intricacy and experimentation. And that’s the key here, although Species is more than capable of peppering your ears with full blown thrash attacks, there’s always a twist or an unfamiliar angle to navigate.

Whether it be Target, Agent Steel, Coroner, Oblivion, Droid or the more recent Dissimulator, I’ve always had a thirst for otherworldly tech thrash, and it comes in droves here with added dehydrated vocal yaps for good measure. Changelings is far from bamboozling, but it drips with progressive nuances. ‘Inspirit Creation’ seems relatively straightforward until the third listen and its then that you appreciate the complexity of the drums more and the little nooks and crannies of the axe work.

As the album unravels one cannot help but notice the influence of bands such as Atheist, Vektor and Watchtower also. My best experience of this album was through headphones so as to be able to pluck at the finer details of songs like ‘The Essence’ which although on first impression has a Megadeth feel, it also exhibits an under layer of complexity with the kick of the skins. I guess where the band really shows their talent is on ‘Waves Of Time’ which brings acoustic subtlety and clear, almost soothing vocal croons.

You really don’t know what is coming next with Species as they voyage into shimmering depths of Cynic, especially with some of the unorthodox funkiness of ‘Terror Unknown’. Somehow the guys fuse a 70s progressive flair on the more delicate parts, with an alternative metal blend circa 1991/92. It’s never Primus or Faith No More, but it belongs in that era of Non-Fiction, Mind Over Four etc., when bands started to experiment, especially those of thrashy orientation. That’s not to say that Species fully twist the membranes, but they do bend them as thrashy segments give way to stark and thorny algorithms. There’s an occasional scent of Mekong Delta perhaps, but certainly the more dehydrated elements (excuse the pun) of Atheist without the jazzy noodling, and all culminating in the grandiose statement of ‘Biological Masterpiece’.

Of course, if you don’t possess the attention span then you might want to ease yourself in via the shorter ‘Voyager’, which still sees the band in rock opera mode circa 70s The Who. Meanwhile, ‘Born Of Stitch And Flesh’ combines the jarring aesthetic of Voivod and the musical theatre of Psychotic Waltz. So, you know the score by now, Species being the latest mob to peer outside of what is now a much worn out box, but one which still offers delight. The label outside reads clear, Changelings is ‘frash from the fringe’.

Neil Arnold

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