THE CONTORTIONIST- EXOPLANET ALBUM REVIEW

When you think of the term 'concept album' within the context of progressive rock and progressive metal, albums that may immediately spring to mind could include Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon, King Krimson- In the Court of the Crimson King and Dream Theater- Metropolis pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory. These are just a few great pieces that showcase the power and captivation that a concept album can produce and they present their themes, musical motifs and structures in unique ways. Having said that, we can deduce some common characteristics typical of this form of album structuring.

It is almost a given that concept albums are going to be long, complex musically and structurally, dynamic and have a certain awareness of predecessors who have used this style of writing. So, how does a concept album work within the confines of deathcore and ‘djent’? In the case of The Contortionist and this, their debut full length 'Exoplanet', they manage to execute an extremely enjoyable album that seems not to be stuck within the confines of its labels at all. 

While it is traditional for the songs to run seamlessly into each other, Exoplanet successfully manages to present nine strong songs which can be enjoyed equally as separate tracks as well as a single cohesive piece. Whichever perspective you decide to take when listening to these tracks, it can't be denied that this LP is able to progress the narrative powerfully with each song, climaxing with the the three part title track at the end of the album. It is a tale of the birth, expansion and eventual demise of the human race with the latter half of the album detailing a plan to colonise another planet in the hope of continuing our legacy. Along with the heavy, dissonant guitar work and slow heavy sections, melodic guitar passages and sci-fi sound effects are interwoven throughout in order to bring this story to life. The overall result of such a combination is an album full of mosh friendly but interesting breakdowns mixed with amazingly beautiful sections capable of satisfying a wide metal audience, all the way from deathcore to progressive metal. 

This blend of musical approaches is strong in the opening two tracks, Primal Directive and Flourish. Colourful guitar leads are scattered across these songs to showcase the technical proficiency of guitarists Robby Baca and Cameron Maynard as well as creating breathtaking, soaring passages that prove that beauty and brutality are not mutually exclusive in extreme metal sub-genres. Nor should they be, considering how well they are integrated, especially on Primal Directive, Flourish, Vessel and Oscillator. The contrast of Jonathan Carpenter's vocal styles further emphasises the strengths of merging styles together. The repeated mantra of the opening song, Primal Directive, is a good example of this:

You. Have. Been. Defined. 

At the midpoint of the song, this line is  delivered delicately while at the end, it is presented through Carpenter's deep growls. When you look at the overall concept of the album, this could be seen as a stylistic way of presenting the turbulence experienced by the human race during its inception and evolution as shown in the opening two songs. It could also be to show the turbulence that is inevitable to the human race. We are damned by being 'defined', bound by mortality and unable to survive the oncoming collapse of our solar system, an idea presented in Expire and the songs that follow. Pretentious reading or not, I believe the music truly reflects the narrative in an engaging and appropriate way due to the attention to detail in the vocals and more melodic passages. 

Having said that, the attention to detail does not stop at the guitar leads and melodies. The riffs and breakdowns throughout the album are often offset with interesting time signatures and syncopation, allowing for the comparison to 'djent' or modern progressive metal. However, these inventive rhythmic ideas are augmented with muting, dynamic sensitivity, natural and artificial harmonics, tapping, layering of distorted and clean guitar tones among other techniques which seem to appear in exactly the right places at exactly the right time. This vast sonic palate not only allows The Contortionist to escape from being pigeon-holed to a specific genre but also makes it obvious that this is a band capable of mature song writing and structuring; a band that is interested in exploring and creating broad soundscapes outside of the norms. Particularly good examples of this include the riffs that begin and conclude Flourish as well as the sporadic and intricate passages that open Advent and Oscillator in a devastating manner.

All of this colourful musical expertise culminates and reaches another level with the three part closing title track- Exoplanet I:Egress II.Void III.Light. Not only does this solidify the flow of the album, it also acts as the perfect closing suite, tying the concept together musically and thematically, reinforcing the tie between the crushing and melodic. Perhaps the most powerful moment of this three part song is the very ending, with the sound of the space station pulse slowly fading away into the swallowing black of space. To me, it sounds like the last lonely pulse of the human heartbeat as the hope of colonisation and survival dies. 

Like so much of the extreme music that exists, this is an album that on paper will either immediately intrigue or repulse potential listeners but it can only be fully appreciated and understood if you give it a chance and listen to it in its entirety. Descriptions and flowery, obsessed personal ramblings can only go so far in promoting this piece of music haha but for those of you who do decide to give this album a shot, you are in for a real treat.

In short, if you are into any form of extreme or experimental metal, Exoplanet is worth your time. The stellar production and mixing, the song structuring, overall album flow, dynamic sensitivity, and musical ingenuity makes this, for me, a stand out album of the last decade. I'm convinced that this album will face and survive the test of time and emerge as a timeless concept album in the years to come. Can it be seen as being on a par with some of the classic concept albums from the pre-2000's? No, but that's ok because this is a whole new beast. This is The Contortionist- Exoplanet. 

The Contortionist finished recording their third full length album on April 23rd, expect some more sci-fi, eargasmic transcendental metal later this year! 

Rating- 10/10

Favourite songs- Primal Directive, Flourish, Vessel, Oscillator and Exoplanet.

Least favourite songs- Contact.


Check out their Facebook page and buy their album and merch here:

https://www.facebook.com/thecontortionist?fref=ts 

http://www.goodfightmusic.com/artists/thecontortionist.php 

WORMED- EXODROMOS ALBUM REVIEW

This is an album that I first discovered around late spring/ early summer last year with a good friend of mine and fellow music enthusiast. He let me borrow this LP but for whatever reason, I just did not get around to giving it the full attention it really deserved... until the beginning of this year. So, we are a little over a year late now but better late than never right?

I'd like to preface this by saying that I made my "Top 10 Albums of 2013" list before I got a chance to dedicate some time to listening to this album (you can watch the video of my selections here). Obviously it would be a bit pointless re-doing this list... BUT if I could go back and change it, Wormed- Exodromos would, without a doubt, be in the top 5 bracket of the list.

As a big death metal fan, I have found, as time goes on, that in some ways it becomes slightly harder to find death metal albums that are able to give you same thrill and have the "wow factor" of your first exposure to the genre. Initially it can take some getting used to the very guttural vocal style, the intense, fast paced, intricate guitar work and almost ridiculously fast blast beats on the drums, especially in modern death metal and technical death metal. But once it "clicks", these traits become exhilarating and leave you thirsting for more, putting you on the insatiable quest for more rapid double kick drums and sick riffage. As time goes by though, that initial thrill begins to wear off and, in order to enjoy albums within the sub genres of death metal, you need to look beyond the face value instrumental characteristics. Yes, you can play me a blast beat at 280bpm but if it is not doing anything in terms of progressing the song or emphasising certain passages within the song, then it can come across as a bit gratuitous occasionally. I also find that as time has passed, I am now less enamoured with shredding/soloing/general high register fretboard wankery in death metal (Necrophagist for example). While there are times where it does work exceptionally well, I do not think it's necessary or mandatory at all times within the genre.

So why am I saying all of this? Well, Exodoromos, the second full length LP from this Spanish death metal behemoth managed to successfully incorporate the speed, technicality and sheer brutality that would be expected in death metal while presenting it in a unique way which can't help but catch your attention.

It is obvious right from the outset that this is an LP which is far more focused on the rhythmic and technical side of death metal, rather than being a guitarist's showmanship. I'm loving the detailed, heavy guitar work and the erratic structure introduced on the opener Nucleon and this is a constant feature throughout this LP. The shifts in tempo, time signatures, rhythms and breaks keep you guessing, making each new song that passes as fun and unpredictable as the last. Even beyond your first listen of the album, this sporadic nature keeps Exodromos fresh and also gives it a structural quality which could be likened to grindcore and deathgrind. For this reason, a band that instantly springs to mind when it comes to comparisons is Origin. The only real changes of pace on this album are Solar Neutrinos and Darkflow Quadrivium which in a way act as a necessary breather from the unrelenting nature of the songs as well as maintaining the atmosphere of the album.

Even more importantly than the structuring, the instrumentation and sound choices really help sell this album. The intermittent gravity blasts on the snare that appear on Nucleon and are scattered on a few other songs make a heavy impact. Their appearance in short bursts puts emphasis on the power of the music. It is great that this technique is not overused because, like fast double kick drum and blast beats, it can become stale very quickly. Also, the guitars sound fantastic. Overall, the sound produced is quite ambiguous and atonal with the exception of a few riffs on the album which produces a nice tonal contrast. While this could initially make it difficult for new listeners to grasp the album, this contrast helps to keep the album engaging throughout.

On top of this, the futuristic, almost sci-fi vibe this creates is perfect when you take into account the lyrical concept of the album, focusing on the idea of the death of our solar system and an advanced human race (more information on this lyrical concept and story can be found here). Although it is not apparent on the first listen, the structure of the album is also particularly powerful  in presenting this concept. Musical motifs, most notably from the songs Tautochrone, Multivectorial Reionisation, Spacetime Ekleipsis Vortice and Stellar Depopulation reappear in the closing song Xenoverse Discharger. Although it takes a few listens to grasp, this acts as the perfect way of rounding off such a busy, intricate set of songs and it goes to prove that it really is rewarding when you dedicate some time to an album of this level of musicianship.

Definite highlights for me include the atmospheric guitar break half way through Tautochrone and the squealing, bending harmonics that appear shortly after this. I absolutely dig the ending sections of Stellar Depopulation and Techkinox Wormhole. The strong galloping guitar chug over the top of the drums fit together perfectly on Depopulation and the fast staccato, odd time hammer blasts on the drums that slowly fade on Wormhole really takes you by surprise.

One thing that is worth mentioning is the vocal style which there seems to be a polar reaction to. For some, it really makes the album, for others, they have severe difficulty getting past the sound. If you had to describe it, it's somewhere in between an undecipherable low guttural and pig squeal. In the context of the music, in some ways it is safer to view the vocals as another percussive device and, to me at least, it aids in the futuristic aesthetic created by the concept and the guitars. If you close your eyes and concentrate really hard while listening to this album, you could imagine Predator singing these songs......

If you are a fan of death metal, this is an album that needs to be in your collection. It is as unrelenting and brutal as it is intricate, diverse and sporadic which is a welcome change in the vast sea of technical death metal. It is certainly one of my favourite death metal albums. If you've listened to it, let me know what you think. What are your highlights? Is this album really as innovative as I'm claiming it to be? Do you prefer this style over a more old school traditional death metal sound?

 

Rating- 10/10

Favourite songs- Nucleon, Tautochrone, Multivectorial Reionisation, Stellar Depopulation and Xenoverse Discharger.

Least favourite songs- Spacetime Ekleipsis Vortice.

On a side note... check out those damn song titles: The Nonlocality Trilemma, Multivectorial Reionisation, Darkflow Quadrivium, Techkinox Wormhole, Xenoverse Discharger... is it just me or are those titles fucking cool as hell? 

Links to their Facebook page and Youtube channel here

https://www.facebook.com/wormed?fref=ts

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPinEz4LGoq_N-3zUhBjbhA