Comprised of two ex-members of tech prog dynamo Spiral Architect, a former Lunaris bassist, and the drummer of Extol, Twisted Into Form weave a dense and complicated labyrinth of winding and intertwining guitars, remarkably fervent bass work, and intensely busy, jazz influenced drumming. The technicality of the music on display here is nothing short of amazing. At times I’m reminded of a waaaaaay more talented Into Eternity minus the death metal influence, at others of an entire album’s worth of Voi-Vod songs all played at the same time. Heaviness is in no way sacrificed for the sake of technicality though at times I wished, perhaps rather selfishly, that some of the riffs could have been allowed a bit more time to breathe. One of the more intriguing aspects of “Then Comes Affliction…” is the subtle eastern flavor that several of the tracks explore. This combination works particularly well on “Instinct Solitaire” and “The Thin Layers of Lust and Love” which sounds a bit like Orphaned Land high on some form of smokable mathematics. “The Flutter Kings” with it’s unique use of a Tricky sounding mechanical drum loop is absolutely another high point on the album.

Music of this caliber and sheer technical magnitude can be a bit intimidating, (and certainly makes all that death metal I listen to seem extra lunk-headed by comparison) so the experience of “Then Comes Affliction…” might be somewhat tiring to the uninitiated, but fans of this type of metal will be elated as this is simply one of the best amalgamations of heavy metal and jazz fusion ever made.