PORTMANTEAU

I remember the first time I listened to Cloudkicker's "Portmanteau," I was shocked, and pleasantly so. After expecting another re-hash of the sound found on "The Discovery" and "The Map is Not the Territory" (which, I admit, I would have been 100% okay with), I discovered that Cloudkicker has evolved his sound. While retaining the dense atmospherics and confusing signature changes that define him, Cloudkicker has added in more traditional progressive elements into the music, making it sound more like rock than metal. The pieces are less straight-ahead Meshuggah-esque grooving and instead feature a variety of sounds. While his original sound is retained, Cloudkicker shows again that he's taken the album format into consideration--it plays like one continuous piece rather than separate tracks. Overall, I was pleased beyond expectations at the sound change and the cohesiveness of this effort. And, best of all, it's free to download, so you've got nothing to lose here!