THE RESONANCE PROJECT

Initially introduced to me via Poh Hock's (Native Construct, Replacire) "Fans also like" section on Spotify. And in turn, The Resonance Project's related artists/bands include the excellent Thrailkill/Mammoth, the great Austrian electro-Jazz guitarist Waxamilion (highly recommend to fans of POLYPHIA), and one of my favorite Jazz-oriented Prog Metal groups, Nova Collective. Really, I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of modern progressive music (although specifically Metal, of course).

Right off the bat with the introductory "Prelude" and the following "A Progression to Infinity", we meet this band (this duo?) in an epic and grand way: a lot of space filled with loveliness and then, in the second half of the latter track, really exemplary, even genuinely interesting modern Prog Metal--I'll admit I'm not the easiest to please here. The guitar and synth leads intermingle in the most satisfying fashion.

The album 'laxes a bit with "Reflection", then bounces back to heft with "Neo Thangka" (really, just in comparison). Still a breather, but a refreshing mix of heaviness and melody. Lead guitar is shared with frequent Thrailkill/Mammoth collaborator [and now, less ignorantly looking back on this review, Instragram-beloved Wunderkind virtuoso for obvious reasons] Mateus Asato, as well as Felix Martin, known for his custom 14-string Chapman-Warr hybrid guitar; he's pretty well liked here on ProgArchives, so I'll have to check him out! Really trying not to bullsh*t with the ratings here (on a song-by-song basis), this song in particular really is great. Overall it's evident that they, and those they employed here, are very talented musicians. And you'll be hard-pressed to find a song that isn't good on this album. I'm a song-oriented listener, if that means anything.

There is a slight shift in tone with "The Anthem" (though everything herein is very much from the same thematic(?) cloth), with epic faux-strings and even an acoustic-classical guitar passage (and so much more). Beautiful and epic stuff, ripe and ready for your average Prog fan. Not to misdirect, but... this is a must-hear track, the clear highlight! It had surprise and cunning. Really, don't not listen to this one.