THE TIME TRAVELLER

Breaking Orbit have surged to the forefront of Australian prog with the 2012 release of their debut album "The Time Traveller". It's a consistently good collection of songs with great production values.

On first listen I was struck by the similarities with Tool, especially in the more rhythmic sections, and with other Australian acts such as Karnivool and The Butterfly Effect in terms of vocals and the use of delay on lead guitar. This is not to say the band sounds derivative - in fact Breaking Orbit effectively carve their own niche with, in particular, some inventive lyrical structure.

The album begins with the the brooding "Echoes" before moving into one of the feature tracks "Conscious Self". There's a great build-up of effects and that familiar echoing guitar before percussion kicks in with devastating effect. And then, it's all stripped back to just the rhythm section and vocals during the verse. It's a nice melody that is delivered with great effectiveness. The chorus brings in power chords and a strong, memorable vocal perfomance.

The title track "Time Traveller" is my favourite on the album. The intro features a lovely echo-laden guitar riff, punctuated by some very heavy sounding detuned power chords. There are some bands who use heavier tunings such as B and still don't sound heavy because the songwriting doesn't utilise it effectively. There are no such concerns for Breaking Orbit. It sounds heavy and deliciously so.

There is a spoken word component in the breakdown as the time traveller itself is encountered. I wish I could make out more of this exchange but it's buried under layers of guitar and percussion and so the specifics remain tantalisingly out of my reach.

Also of note is "Cassandra Syndrome", a throbbing, rhythmic song that chugs away with muted guitars for much of the duration. "Orion" is a good song, although lyrically not as strong as the rest of the album. The album closes with "Silence Seekers", a more melodic track with some great heavy, syncopated chords thrown in. The melodic guitar at around 4:30 is gorgeous and really helps to usher in the powerful finale.

The artwork is beautifully done, also evocative of Tool, with the time traveller on the cover very reminiscent of Lateralus.

Overall this is some easily accessible heavy prog that also retains complex time signatures, rhythms, and some inventive lyrical ideas. It's no mean feat to bring it all together this well.