THE APPROBATION

'The Approbation' is the debut studio release by Norwegian collective Avkrvst, a young band that has just come onto the scene, presenting a somber collection of 2000s prog metal-tinted compositions, sometimes explicitly heavy and aggressive, other times more melodic, melancholic and desperate-sounding, with a sound that could be described as reminiscent of bands like Opeth (perhaps 'Damnation' era), Porcupine Tree (with notches to 'Deadwing' and 'Fear of a Blank Planet') and bits of Anekdoten, Leprous, and what have you more.

The sound that the band seems to be going for on this very bold and far-reaching album jumbles between progressive metal with hints of black metal here and there, symphonic prog (in terms of technicality and odd time signatures) and more traditional heavy prog, the one associated with the abovementioned bands. Interestingly enough, the vocals are pretty melancholic, a bit dense sometimes, but almost entirely clean; very few sections here see the use of harsh vocals, an inspiration that could be coming from the metal background of the band members. This is a mostly low tempo album, as the band does not depend too much on fast technical playing, that one could traditionally associate with standard progressive metal. The ominous riffs are building up in a more controlled manner, still grim and bruiting, more in the vein of early Black Sabbath, for example. All of the comparisons and references are necessary here, as they are pretty prevalent all over the album. Additionally, in the case of a newer band one would like to link them to a specific context and in the case of Avkrvst one could safely say that they like to wear their influences on their sleeves.

'The Approbation' opens up with a 30-second instrumental build-up that transitions into the opening track 'The Pale Moon', a bleak exploration on the life of the supposed album protagonist. This tracks begins heavily and as soon as it reaches the verse it changes shape into something like an unreleased track off of Opeth's 'Damnation' album. Intense, dense and soothing at the same time, this is a very good song. Then comes the predominantly instrumental 'Isolation', illustrative of the directions that the band had undertaken for 'The Approbation'- bleakness, aggression, sometimes introspection or loss. The story that they're telling for sure matches the sound. 'The Great White River' is a fantastic track, too. Quite similar to the ones coming before it. Then 'Arcane Clouds' sits as a tiny bit more forgettable than the rest of the songs on here, and this is where the album begins to sound a bit dense and monotonous overall, in my humble opinion. The longer tracks, unfortunately, do not manage to grippingly take off, as there is a great promise there, but it washes out somewhere in the middle of both 'Anodyne' and the 13-minute long title track.

And to summarize, one could say that this is a strong and impressive debut album coming from a band that clearly wants to be associated with the heavier side of the progressive rock scene. Certain moments here make me think that I have already heard some of these tracks before but done better. Also, I believe that progressive metal has better albums to offer generally but there is by all means a great promise - Avkrvst seems to go to too many directions which lead the listener nowhere (not all the time), wondering which one they would like to take on and develop in future releases - the more melodic-symphonic side, the poppier and more accessible-experimental side, or the heavier, darker, doomier side.