INTO THE MOAT

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Into the Moat create a very interesting experience with The Design. It's a very heavy, intense, slightly chaotic album, but far from mainstream and boring. Usually on a progressive / tech- death album, short song lengths are a warning of mediocrity or brutal-death-metal-isms, but in this case, the intensity that Into the Moat packs into each track would be hard to maintain for much longer without losing it's complexity. When I listen to this album, the aggressive attitude and vocals of the music makes it seem far more mainstream than it actually is, but the instrumentals tell a very different story. The guitar playing isn't quite as blistering as the Faceless or Hiroshima will Burn (yes, namedropping an obscure, Faceless-esque, extremely talented and VERY young band... sorry), but it's certainly quite fast and very well-executed. The three bands (The Faceless, Hiroshima Will Burn, and Into the Moat) go well in a playlist together. Hieronymus Bosch is also a good addition to this "playlist," in case you're like me and enjoy shuffling a few sort of similar artists into a playlist... Hieronymus Bosch adds a nice, mellower touch to the mix...

ANYWAYS, Some of the passages remind me of a much angrier Between the Buried and Me, spazzing between time signatures and crushingly heavy / progressive / jazzy passages. The first little progressive jog at the beginning of "Guardian" made me think of Cynic. Most of it is kind of chaotic, but sometimes I like that kind of thing. There are a few semi-cliche sounding breakdowns, like in "Dead Before I Stray," but they quickly move on into something more interesting.

Though nothing really stands out as incredible and unique, it's overall a very solid album. Very metal, very aggressive and slightly angsty, but quite technical, complex, and progressive. Some of the transitions are a little abrupt and remind you that this is a debut full-length from the band (i.e. the intro to "Prologue" or the ending of "None Shall Pass"), but for the most part, it's well crafted and well executed.

I really wish I could give it about 3.5 stars, but 3 seems like way too low a score given how much I enjoy this album, so 4 stars it is.

Into the Moat is definitely not for the faint of heart. The Campaign, their newest record is seriously heavy and intense. Like Between the burried and me, they have very heavy, progressive guitar and drum arrangements with some brutal vocals. But unlike their musical cousin, Into the Moat's vocals never see a softer side. Their music is outstanding, crushing, but at times they will surprise you with some subtle, musical melody-avaunt guard arrangements that just seem to fit. The song of this album that caught my progressive metal ear (haha that sounds so dorky) was Advocate v. Activist It runs over seven minutes in length and has a great amount of variety.

If you like some brutal progressive music like BTBAM, this band may suit you!

3.5 stars.