SYKOFANT

The first track kicks off with two things I enjoy and two things I do not. First, the distorted guitar tone is fuzzy and chunky, the perfect sound to compliment the slippery riffing. The lead vocals are gritty and emotive. Unfortunately, the clean guitar tone is too rounded for my ears (they needed to not roll the tone knob off so far, or to switch to the bridge pickup), and the background vocals tend towards sloppiness.

The second track ramps up the Pink Floyd and Opeth influences, starting with melancholy clean guitar arpeggios and Gilmour-esque lead guitar and ending up in some seriously heavy and dissonant riffs. The piece moves between sections smoothly, never feeling clunky or unnatural as it rises from "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" to "Ghost of Perdition". The third track, "Monuments of Old", is dominated by technical but not excessively heavy riffing, a sort of bright and nimble sound evocative of mid-70's Rush. Next up, "Between the Moments" brings a healthy dose of funky blues rock riffing. It's not groundbreaking or particularly interesting, but the raucous vocal performances make for an enjoyable listen.

Moving in towards the end, "Strangers" opens with a solid harmonic minor lead guitar showcase, before flowing into some more proggy alt-rock that bleeds over into some strange but cool surf/Western style guitar instrumentals. It's odd but it works, sort of. The whole thing ends on a long ambient movement that doesn't really go anywhere but is a nice change of pace.

The final track, "Forgotten Paths", needed some work in the pacing department (or maybe just needed editing). There's lots of decent ideas, but they lead nowhere except a lackluster slide solo and a sort of awkward reggae movement. Eventually the song (and album) ends with a whimper rather than a bang.

On the whole, this album just has slightly too much 90's alt-rock influence for my tastes, but there's enough I found enjoyable that I'll definitely follow what this band does next. Some broad strokes thoughts: I liked the loud, mid- boosted bass, since it fills out the texture in a great way; the longer tracks tend to be better, as the band uses the extra space to experiment and flesh things out more, rising to some interesting peaks, whereas the shorter songs tend to sacrifice that diversity for a generic while solid if not particularly impressive rock sound; I really liked the avant-garde landscape artwork on the cover, and; overall I'd call this a solid mishmash of their influences, but it lacks originality in a major way.

Track Rating: Pavement of Color (6), Between Air and Water (9), Monuments of Old (7), Between the Moments (7), Strangers (7), Forgotten Paths (6).

Overall Rating: 7/10, or, 3 Stars (rounded down).

'Pavement of Color' strange, raw rock from the 70s, groove from the 90s from the time of Alice in Chains, a zest of southern rock, a sound that asks the question, in which direction are they going? in short, confusing, I keep my ears open. 'Between Air and Water' continues with a long orchestral intro, guitar spinning, returning to hit the stirrup; the voice of the 60's, a psychedelic sound, a languorous guitar, a souvenir atmosphere. Slimy, vintage choruses, I'm wary; the psychedelic melody with a hint of Floyd calls out; 4 mins and the sharp guitar break, also latent; this rise gives the energy amplifying the addictive progressive extension; a little voice and the crystalline heavy guitar continues, contemplative, bewitching; the bass on the sound of the first beginnings of Maiden, prog metal before its time. A hint of Rush also stands out. 'Monuments of Old' continues with some voice-overs and the instrumental variation; a look back at the past in terms of sound, progress for the spleen atmosphere of Light Damage for this foil guitar sound; the basic riff accompanied by military drums and the digression on Rush, the hard bands of the 80s, the rock of Pearl Jam. The sound maintains this marked progressive framework by offering a melting pot of sounds ranging from stripped garage rock to dark cinematic ambiances flirting with Marillion.

'Between the Moments' continues, calm voice with a minimalist arpeggio, the tune is fluid, the tone perky. Heavy break riff on the Thin Lizzy for this freshness of the solos; Floyd tangled with a bass dub in the distance, it feels like a music festival. The decline with these incisive, rhythmic guitars, the solos which fill despite the absence of keyboard. 'Strangers' follows stuck to the point that we forget that these 55 minutes are stuck. The melodic then catchy guitar on a highlighted 80s hard rock riff; the fusion of the rocker voice with the rhythm of the amalgamated Floyd. The voice is harsh, the southern western rhythm à la Tarantino, a cinematic soundtrack from a cowboy film, then one from 60s gangsters; 'ouh ah, ouch argh' says Emil who takes us right there to the spaghetti film, hilarious, enjoyable. The finale leaves in the ethereal ambient space, one that makes the hairs stand on end, magnificent. 'Forgotten Paths' like a wave crashing, an acoustic guitar for the voice and 3 minutes at the end; no, the riff behind you on the left, the bass coming out in front, not bad orchestration; 5 mins and the other guitar on the right. The monolithic riff that takes us to cinematics, westerns and Floyd's 'Meddle'. A break on Rush again and Iron Maiden to regress before taking off for one of the most beautiful progressive tracks. Who said you need keyboards everywhere in prog? In short, this crescendant rise is enjoyable, addictive, highlighting Melvin's chopsticks.(4.5) Originally on Progcensor.