Perhaps it’s simply a matter of me approaching this EP from a ‘metal’ perspective, but in spite of the artist’s best intentions to counter the imbalance in symphonic metal, the lack of metal ironically makes the music feel uneven and incomplete. Many of the symphonic arrangements have obviously been tended to with meticulous care, but to hear the sound of double-kick drums without a guitar can often feel like Design is missing a crucial part of their sound. On its own, the orchestral component sounds like it’s in need of a melodic lead to guide it along. The few moments a guitar is used are generally quite impressive, and I would have loved to have heard Design bring more of their ‘metal’ element to light.

Of course, as is the case with so many symphonic metal bands, Design is forced to resort to an artificial orchestra. Considering that most of the sounds heard are synthesized through a computer, much of the orchestra sounds surprisingly well-furnished and authentic. While the string section is believable enough, the drums are ineffective and dull, and many of the leads are left sounding synthesized. It’s certainly not something that can be helped (a large budget notwithstanding) but I can’t help but feel there is too much of an emphasis on ‘fake’ instruments on Apotheosis. Given the ever-improving state of technology and the current state of Design’s sound, I wouldn’t discredit the artificial approach entirely, but it would have been nice to hear a bit more of a human touch here, be it symphonic, metal, or something else entirely.

Apotheosis sees Design ambitiously attempting to put a new spin on a genre that has been only recently seeing a surge of new interest, and although I am optimistic for this project’s future, some otherwise solid symphonic ideas have not been given the best context to be enjoyed in. On top of the artificial means of presentation, Apotheosis lacks an overall arc to it. There are no audibly recurring motifs or a gradual incline of intensity as the work goes on. These are things I would look for when listening to a classical work. Ultimately, in trying to find a balance between metal and symphonic music, Apotheosis is somewhat disappointing on both ends. Regardless, it will be great to hear what this project comes out with in the future. No doubt, there are surprises yet in wait for us…

In order to describe the sound of Lo-Fi Resistance on Chalk Lines, it may be helpful to list some of the people Randy has enlisted to help out with it. King’s X’s Dug Pinnick offers a contribution here, as well as John Giblin (ex-bassist for Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel) and Dave Kerzner (former keyboardist for Kevin Gilbert). On top of Gavin Harrison and his legendary precision with the drumkit, Porcupine Tree bassist Colin Edwin, and live guitarist John Wesley are also present for part of the album. It should come as little surprise by this point, but comparisons to the sound of Porcupine Tree are virtually inevitable. The poignant simplicity of proverbially ‘good’ singer-songwriter music is fleshed out by an atmospheric production and sonic arrangement typical of the modern prog elite. Although the album’s closer “Face Another Day” between the fourteen and fifteen minute mark, Randy’s songwriting prefers to be concise whenever possible. The long-forgotten art of the chorus is rekindled here as well; suffice to say, there will be several vocal parts that you may find yourself at least humming along to by the second listen through. Perhaps above anything else, “Chalk Lines” reminds me of the mid-era Porcupine Tree, most notably “Lightbulb Sun” or “Signify”, where expansive Floydian arrangements contrasted yet complimented relatively ‘simple’ songwriting.

Arguably the best piece on the album is “The Fall”, a very vocal-driven piece that combines beautifully the merits of melancholy and rich ‘otherworldly’ atmosphere into one emotionally stirring experience. Although Randy’s big merit is his songwriting, he- and everyone else involved with this project- is also a great musician. Vocally, Randy’s voice fits quite well into the sort of post-progressive scene we’ve seen growing over the past couple of years; it wouldn’t be too difficult to see him singing a song by Marillion or Anathema. Although his vocals are not incredibly impressive on their own, his melodies are powerful, and the lyrics- passing me as a sort of sincere confessional- only serve to reinforce the feeling of ‘emotive prog’. Like myself, I’m sure many people came into listening to the album with an ear specifically on Gavin Harrison’s drum performance. It’s no surprise, obviously, but his performance is fantastic. It exudes professionalism and the sort of mechanical groove and precision that has earned him a spot at the throne of progressive drumming. As for the other collaborators here, it’s a little difficult to point out certain parts as being performed by a particular musician. This is not technically virtuosic music, but the overall impression here is one of professional musicianship and fine-tuned technique. Although Lo-Fi Resistance does not skirt closely enough to any band (including Porcupine Tree) to construe labelling them any brand of copycat, there is the impression that “Chalk Lines” would rather reinforce existing modern progressive ideas, rather than push the boundary further. This detail doesn’t hurt the musical experience or enjoyment any, but some sort of ‘new angle’ to the musical style may have seen Lo-Fi Resistance leave an even greater impression on me.

Although chances are you’ll have heard of Lo-Fi Resistance via the participation of Mr. Harrison, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s rare that an art rock album manages to combine the fundaments of solid songwriting, and the ambition of progressive rock into one seamless package. Modern progressive rock has another name to look out for, and that name is Lo-Fi Resistance.

Although the band’s press kit describes “Soil” as a combination of ‘atmosphere and melody with aggression and energy in a mix of different metal and rock styles’, they stay true to the sort of progressively-inclined melodic death metal you’ve likely heard at one point or another. The riffs are indeed heavy and atmospheric, filtered through a very clean sense of production. The vocals- provided by guitarist Anton Heesterbeek- largely resort to death growls, although they are restrained enough to that there’s not much difficulty in understanding what he’s actually saying. Interspersed between the metal moments are frequent acoustic breaks, where soft clean vocals can also be heard. Describing this band- and taking into account Dan Swano’s contribution- it shouldn’t be any surprise when I say that Malicious Dream sound quite a bit like Opeth. Depending on what your opinion of the Swedish metal masters is, this can be a good or bad thing. Malicious Dream tend to regurgitate alot of the tricks that made Opeth great in the first place, and it’s executed with a perpetual sense of taste and skill. With that being said, I cannot shake the feeling that Malicious Dream do not escape from the shadow of Opeth.

The style may not feel particularly fresh, but the way in which its done is generally excellent. It’s clear that this is a work of no little labor- the production and packaging both give the sense that Malicious Dream are a potentially professional act. Chris van der Linden (himself of the atmospheric bands Fourteen Twentysix and Bow) has contributed some wonderful ceramic/photographic art for this project, and the booklet has enough wonderful art to keep one’s eyes busy for an entire spin of the record. The climax “In Mourning” (and its coda, “Leaving…”) makes for the best that Malicious Dream have to offer on “Soil”. It is a gradually building, emotionally powerful track that holds its progressive inclinations in full view for all to see. “Discordance” is another great track, taking things down a slightly darker path than the rest of the material here. The musicianship here is excellent, with a particular accolade going to the lead guitar work.Some of the most memorable stuff on “Soil” is thanks to keen, beautiful melodies from the guitars.

Heesterbeek’s growls are dark and understandable, and fit Malicious Dream‘s sound like a glove. Less successful however are the clean vocals, which- while perfectly capable of conveying a melody- feel in need of some extra beef and conviction to them. This could be something I could say for Malicious Dream at large. It’s well-composed, thoughtful music, but “Soil” could have made a greater impression, had there been a deeper sense of grit. It’s not mechanical enough to call it sterile, but Malicious Dream would sound even better if they let the death metal demon out to play. As debuts go, Malicious Dream can call this one a success, but I think we will hear much better things from them in the future.

It must have been January early this year I first listened to Oceans of Night; both “Domain” and the debut, “The Shadowheart Mirror“. On “Shadowheart“, Oceans of Night introduced themselves as a fairly melodic, and even catchy progressive metal band- the sort that you see quite often in Europe. With “Domain“, things get a little more intricate and proggy for them, although if memory serves, there were some sacrifices made. Namely, the sense of hook-heavy fun that engaged me with “The Shadowheart Mirror” has been toned down. The seventeen minute self-titled opener is a big indicator that Oceans of Night seeks to take their melodic sound down a more progcentric route. I’ve heard Oceans of Night labeled before as ‘atmospheric’ progressive metal, and this tag would certainly work. Although the compositions blend the crowd energy of AOR hard rock with power and progressive metal styles, the production is the band’s most distinctive element, slathering most instruments in a sheet of reverb. Scott Oliva’s vocals at times feel a little unsure of themselves in terms of the melody, as if there were sections where he was only given an outline of where to go with the melody. Overall however, Oliva’s vocals rock, in a word. The same can also be said for Mosher’s guitar work. Although there aren’t too many riffs here that stand out as ‘excellent’ perse, Scott M.’s lead guitar and soloing is an absolute joy. It works so well with the driving rhythm-direction that Oceans of Night goes for; I could listen to that sort of lead work for hours and not get bored!

As I mentioned, production is the hot topic with Oceans of Night, and even upon returning to “Domain“, I’m still a little unsure of what to think of it. Based on composition and performance alone, it’s not the sort of thing you would plug as ‘atmospheric’; Oceans of Night focuses on the tight melodic and song-based aspects of their music , and I tend to think of atmosphere as something that takes quite a bit of longwinded energy to gradually conjure. Giving the guitars that embellished sense of presence does give the sense that you’re listening to the album in a very vast amphitheater, but the budget-feel of the production can’t handle it. As a result, the atmosphere results in a fairly muddy sound, and this can serve to rob “Domain” of some of its ‘rock’ power. I still don’t feel that “Domain” is a total success, but it’s certainly got a unique sound to it, and in a progressive metal scene where everyone seems to drift towards one or two prefabricated templates, that is something to look out for.

As a regular consumer of atmospheric arboreal black metal and avant-garde post-progressive jazz fusion, I may not have been the most likely fan. Although bands like Motley Crue were an essential part of my development as a music listener, only the cream of the crop still comes across as relevant. Even more severe has been my historical disdain for bands who make the overt attempt to sound like they come out of another decade without innovating the sound somehow. These rules are largely tossed in the case of Knock Out Kaine. They’re retro, and they’re certainly sleazy, but there’s a great charm and precision to what they’re doing. Song topics include girls, liquor, drugs, girls, and the thinly veiled implication of drugs by personifying said drug as a girl. Apparently, many of these stories originate from a party house (from which the album gets its name) where a bunch of this stuff presumably happened. With the image in mind of a liquor fueled sex romp, one probably wouldn’t expect Knock Out Kaine to be so damned tight as a band. But they certainly are; each band member is able to express their talent well within the boundaries of the songwriting. Vocalist Dean Foxx’s performance stands out as being particularly memorable. It’s like he conjures the styles of Vince Neil and Axl Rose and meshes them together into something that’s better than either. Especially for a debut, the production on “House of Sins” is excellent, giving Knock Out Kaine a crystal clear sound that doesn’t hinder their rocking-ness.

The songwriting here is no innovation past what’s been done before; most of the musical ideas and song structures can be instantly predictable to anyone who has heard a proper hard rock record before. Knock Out Kaine really seem to prosper under this tight formula, however. With the exception of the mandatory power ballad (“Coming Home”) each song flows in a similar way, but the riffs and vocal melodies do well to set each song apart. “House of Sins” is not the sort of album that will grow on you with each listen- rather, it lays all of its cards out on the table immediately. Presumably, a listener could digest everything Knock Out Kaine have to offer within a listen or two, but it’s the quality of their execution and convincing grip of their style that will keep listeners coming back for more. The golden age of hard rock may be over, but Knock Out Kaine have made for unlikely winners. Equal parts liquor-filled sleaze and professional class, “House of Sins” is a record to check out!

In this self-released solo project, Chris puts an even greater focus on the atmospheric element of his sound, going so far as to extricate the ‘rock’ energy from the formula altogether. What you’re left with is an experimental, composition-oriented slab of industrial-grade ambiance, a forty-five minute piece of atmosphere plucked straight from the post-nuclear apocalypse. Don’t let the ambient label fool you; there’s plenty going on here, and it’s not likely we’ll be hearing any part of “Man in the Machine” in office elevators any time soon. It’s abrasive and mechanical, but there is a human warmth here that hits with the sort of emotional intensity you might not expect from music of this sort.

As an existing fan of what van der Linden did with Fourteen Twentysix, it comes as a surprise to hear him coming from such a different direction. Granted, Fourteen Twentysix was a pretty atmospheric band in its own right, but “Man in the Machine” is approached with a certain air of abstraction. From the opening spoken-word dialogue, it’s readily evident that a great deal of thought’s been put into the album. Beneath the expansive industrial orchestrations, there’s a fitting concept to boot. Although we are only let in on the themes through pieces of cryptic dialogue interspersed throughout the album, the conceptual aspect is effective and clear. Bow asks the question; are humans any more than functional, organic machines? Routine is everything, and as technology becomes all the more important, are true, human experiences becoming marginalized? There are some pretty heady ideas explored in Man in the Machine, and the definitive solution for these issues is held just out of reach. These bits of spoken word are easily reminiscent of Pain of Salvation‘s conceptual opus BE, where spoken word dialogue was used somewhat similarly. It’s perfectly possible to enjoy the music of Bow without this concept, but this sort of abstract narrative really helps to give the cold atmosphere of Bowsome proper context.

Man in the Machine is a title that also seems to reflect the music itself. There are plenty of machine-like, or mechanical timbres observed on the album. Following the spoken overture, Bow plunges deep into some abrasive percussion that sounds quite larger-than-life, despite the fact that much of it has no-doubt been produced via computer. Particularly towards the middle of the album, there are long-winded sections of quasi-noise ambiance, filtered through a refined, precise sense of production and mixing. To counter this, there’s a more ‘human’ aspect of sound on the record. Most notably, there’s a beautiful violin motif that pops up a couple of times. Considering we are brought into the album expecting a robot to stare us in the face for the album’s entire length, it’s a great thing to have that sort of balance.

Although the album’s been cut into tracks, it flows as one epic. At forty five minutes, it never overstays its welcome, although at times it can feel longer than it actually is, if only for the fact that Chris never rushes the way the composition twists and turns. Bow is a project with plenty of potential, perhaps even moreso than Fourteen Twentysix. It’s great to hear ambient music approached with a sense of composition, yet retaining its pleasantly cerebral abstraction. After an epic climax in “The Way Out”, Bow once again sets off into the distance; does the narrator truly find the solace and meaning he’s been looking for?  I think if there was a science-fiction film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz involving a robot in search for a human heart, I think Man in the Machine would be the first choice of a soundtrack. It’s looming and vast, but like any human, it’s driven by a sense of vulnerability and confusion. It’s a great album.

The ‘gimmick’ of The Bunny The Bear revolves around their two masked singers; the former offering varied screams and growls, whilst the latter gives a high pitched clean vocal not dissimilar from Coheed & Cambria‘s Claudio Sanchez. Musically speaking, The Bunny The Bear fuse metalcore with dance and electronic pop music. In this sense, they might be compared to the superior iwrestledabearonce, albeit without the same spastic chaos. Although all styles mentioned rarely interest me, The Bunny The Bear patch it together in a way that sounds fun and even forward-thinking in parts. Some of the guitar work (particularly in “Lonely, Lonely, Lonely” and “I’m Scared Now”) is surprisingly technical and impressive, giving the music a touch of prog I would never have thought to hear on an album like this. Though the effeminate pitch and tone of The Bear’s voice won’t appeal to the more metal amongst us who make a living skinning crocodiles or hunting frost giants, many of his vocal melodies are undeniably catchy.

I find myself decidedly less enthusiastic about The Bunny‘s harsher vocals. Although it’s cool that he has quite a range (from quasi-black metal rasps to grunts and screams), most of it defaults on a rough, adolescent scream that fits the bill of what I would expect in the average tweencore band. Nothing about his performance is particularly good, although his death growls tend to be listenable. In short, The Bunny’s harsher vocal approach does not seem to fit the generally light and synth-heavy sound of the band, often to the point where I feel it gets in the way of what would otherwise be a pretty good synth-pop metal record. “The Stomach For It” ultimately feels like a lightly experimental take on a style that The Bunny The Bear sound largely well cut-out for. The catchy hooks are far and beyond the album’s greatest feat, and though it’s often taken for granted, the production is pretty good too. Unfortunately, the ‘experimental’ tag that first interested me in checking out this band has been overrated, and the charm wears off pretty quickly after a listen or two. The Bunny The Bear put just enough of a different spin on things to make them stand out from Victory’s usual nonsense, although I’m reluctant to call it anything past decent.

It would be nearly impossible to sincerely describe the music of Electric Swan without digressing into a list of now-legendary bands. To keep this review from looking like a casual ‘classic hard rock’ paperback guide, I will cut myself short by saying that Electric Swan would have sounded right at home at the Woodstock festival. Calegari’s guitar tone and style are taken after the almighty Hendrix, while the often gloomy songwriting and atmosphere may point in the direction of Black Sabbath. Arguably Swan‘s most distinctive element is the powerful voice of vocalist Monica Sardella, who herself sounds like a disciple of Janis Joplin, mixed with a touch of Rush‘s Geddy Lee, circa 1974. As I mentioned, it would be fairly difficult to describe the music of this band without mentioning their influences, if only because Electric Swan seem to make such an effort to emulate them. This is both a bit of a good and bad thing; although most fans of rock and metal will be able to appreciate this tried-and-true blend of distorted guitars and rock organs, they do little to change or ‘update’ it. As if the 2012 release date was a typo off by a few harmless decades, the anachronism of Electric Swan‘s music is what defines it most.

Of course, style is dwarfed in comparison to the actual quality and passion of the music itself, and this is something that Electric Swan do manage to pull off quite admirably. Although the production feels a little rough and muddy, it still conveys the organic quality that I look for in all psychedelic music. Sardella’s vocals are heavy and charismatic, emphasizing power over finesse. If the comparison to Jimi Hendrix wasn’t enough, I’ll make it clear that Lucio Calegari’s guitar work is really impressive, nailing a vintage distortion that fits the music brilliantly. Of course, it must be mentioned the Clive Jones (of classic heavy proggers Black Widow) adds some great sax work for the album’s dramatic highlight, “Garden of Burning Trees”. The performing talent is in no shortage with Electric Swan, and if I were to guess, I would imagine this band sounds awesome live.

With Swirl In Gravity, I find myself torn between enjoying it for its keen musicianship, or finding myself unimpressed by the lack of innovation. I love the vintage style of psychedelia, but in the case of Electric Swan, I have heard better music of this style, most often from the bands that influenced them in the first place. The talent is most certainly here, but I would have to hear Electric Swan take this sound somewhere fresh before I could get really excited over them.

Negru: I only say that we play black metal, that’s the major thing. But, it’s a very personal way of black metal, we enjoy exploring different things, experimenting and going everywhere with things. There are some folk parts, traditional Romanian influences, progressive influences. A whole mixture of things. We try to bring new elements so each album is a little bit different, hopefully! I think everybody decides the things they want on their own!

You would associate yourself most with black metal though.

Yes, but mostly as far as the conceptual approach goes, or the ideology. Black metal is maybe the only musical genre where the concepts behind the music is more important than the music itself. The music is more of a reflection of the ideas, but the main thing is to get the concept across.

And Negura Bunget is very vocal about its ideology of nature and pagan worship!

Yes, but in order to get that black metal approach across, one must censor themselves, or keep themselves within a certain box in order to retain the atmosphere. Even so, we hope to be at the very edge of that.

Going more into the ideologies; what draws you to this sort of nature-reverence in your music?

Our main influences are our local history and spirituality, the natural elements; they all seem to blend together.

Just an offbeat question… What sort of black metal bands first influenced you starting out?

When we started, it was the Norwegian classics like Emperor, Mordor, Enslaved… But we listened to a variety of different music, not just metal. The more you listen, the more it broadens your perspective.

Onto my my next question; Negura Bunget has transformed from a fairly atmospheric-based band to one that’s much more progressive and experimental. From ‘Om’ onwards, was this more of a natural growth, or was it a conscious decision to take the sound and build it up to something greater?

It’s hard saying you will take a certain sound and take it here, and there, and there. It’s just a natural sort of evolution, but we did want to take things further. It wasn’t like we were satisfied with our sound; we wanted to keep pushing our boundaries and doing different, better things. Same from the beginning of the band…

You changed your lineup a few years ago also, where it went from a three man group to what’s not a virtually completely different cast of musicians, besides you, who is now the core member. I’m wondering how this has changed the way Negura Bunget writes and makes music?

Back in the day, we had three official members, as well as an extended lineup for live. Now, we have a six member line up, full members in the band. We had lineup changes even after that, but it’s going quite well. There are more people who are more directly involved, we’re able to do more things. We have very intense live and studio activity. I think things are happening much faster for us now!

A question about the new recording; you re-recorded one of my favourite ever black metal albums, ‘Maiastru Sfetnic’, now into ‘Maiastrit’. I know that you had some issues with the original, but what issues in particular did you have with the original, and looking back, do you think the re-recording is better overall?

We were actually not satisfied at all with the original, from the beginning. So when we ended that album, we said “the first time we have a chance, let’s do it again”. We enjoyed that album, but we knew that there were alot of things that weren’t there that were supposed to be. I think the new version is closer to what we wanted originally, it’s more straightforward, it’s cleaner, but after ten years, it’s quite a bit different; we changed it alot.

So, this has been your first tour going through North America; a pretty massive undertaking from my understanding. How has it been going so far?

I think it’s been going pretty well so far, actually it’s been going better than I think we expected, especially in Canada.

What was involved in getting this thing together; was it fairly difficult?

It was not too hard organizing the dates but it was very difficult getting all the paperwork; all that kind of stuff, it was really a nightmare! But for the rest of it, it was really not difficult, we had contacts for a lot of different years, and people asked us if we would like to come, so we already had things worked out.

Coming off from your European tour; are there any subtle differences between the European fans that come to Negura shows and the North American ones?

We never had a ‘certain kind of people’ come to our shows, even in Europe. It’s always different people, some are into metal, other are in the folk, or ambient parts… Just people who enjoy different parts; it’s pretty much the same here, I wouldn’t say there is a big difference. Overall the people are a bit different here, but like as you say, it is a subtle difference.

As far as your live concerts go, this must be quite a bit more difficult to organize now. What went into this?

When we set out on this tour, we decided that we wanted to get as much of what you hear on the album into the live setting, so if there’s an instrument on the album, we also want to bring that live! Fortunately, we have played alot, so it’s not too hard to put things together. We have alot of background experience. We had alot of problems, but now we’re here. It’s just we have to figure out how to get all the instruments together, we don’t have all that we use, but most of it here! If we don’t have an instrument that’s on the album, then we just don’t play those songs. Pretty much, what you hear on the album is what you hear live!

You’re playing in another band tonight; Din Brad, which for anyone who hasn’t heard them yet, is a neofolk band whose name translates into ‘From The Fir Tree’. I hadn’t heard of them before knowing they were on this bill; it sounds to be like a particularly ambient take on folk and classical music…

We have some of those influences in Negura, but yes, this is a very different approach. With Din Brad, we play traditional Romanian folk music, it’s a personal vision of that traditional music, but there’s no metal!

How is this music been received by the concertgoers, mostly metalheads?

I think some people are able to connect with it and feel the music, and some do not open themselves up to it.

Yeah, that whole “not black metal = not good” way of thinking…

It’s fine for us though, actually what we wanted to do. It’s been okay so far!

You’re playing in Vancouver tonight, and I’m wondering; do you know anything about Vancouver’s scene for black metal?

I can’t say; I am not too much familiar with it!

Have you ever heard of Blasphemy? (Points to Blasphemy “Fallen Angel of Doom” patch)

Yes, from Vancouver? I think we may have played with them! *Laughs*

They’re wicked. What advice might you give to other musicians in the black metal scene, trying to get a band together or put music out?

The most important thing is to follow your own path, don’t be distracted by what others want you to be. Everything goes from that.

Anything that I may missed?

Negru: I’m not sure! *Laughs*

Conor: Best of luck with the show!

http://www.negurabunget.com/

The Mars Volta may be a good place to start when comparing and describing the Ben Levin Group. Both bands have a cast of incredibly skilled members, and both mix a jazz fusion sound with hard rock and intense psychedelia. Deliberating further; the Ben Levin Group make generous use of the violin to give their sound a dreamlike, classical charm, not unlike their fellow Berklee alumni in Kayo Dot. From their declaration of a forty-minute epic alone, there is no doubt that the band are taken ambition to heart with their work. ‘Pulse of a Nation’ is offered both as a single track, and as an album broken up into ‘sections’. It may better suit the purposes of this music to take it as one whole and nothing else; not a minute here consolidates into ‘conventional songwriting’. Something that the psychedelic and jazz fusion influences of the band have in common is that they tend to prefer drawn out segments, and ‘Pulse of a Nation’ is full of these, although they are kept fresh and exciting with a spinning wheel of weird, delightful sounds. Ben Levin’s Zappa-esque guitar explorations are not without melody however, and this is what makes the music here brilliant. It is constant and unerring with its regard to experimentation and unorthodoxy, yet truly memorable melodies are worked into the music.

From the skyward noise experimentation of what’s referred to in the multi-track version as ‘Pulse’, to the Opeth-like cool down in ‘Sleep’, there’s a great deal of dynamic and variety thrown in. By all means, the Ben Levin Group should sound like they are forcing beautiful things together into something horrible and corrupt, sort of like if you were to cook peanut butter chocolate on top of a pepperoni pizza and then call it an album. Somehow though, the Ben Levin Group not only make ‘Pulse of a Nation’ work, but make it one of the most impressive underground gems prog has seen in recent years. A group of maniacally skilled musicians can always get together in a room and make something ‘weird’, but it takes more to make something like ‘Pulse of a Nation’.

Nowadays, it’s virtually a pre-requisite to have tight performance skills in prog metal, otherwise a band is nary considered ‘worthy’ of being part of the genre. Suffice to say, Dynahead do not disappoint on this front, and while it’s basically taken for granted that bands of this nature have some degree of technical skill, Dynahead impress on all fronts, at least as far as their playing is concerned. The music is built around the rhythm guitars, which are most often heavy and a little thrash-oriented. Caio Duarte’s vocals seem a little stuck between sounding melodic and sounding gruff, but he is a very capable vocalist, effortlessly covering everything from power metal wails to death growls and the gaps in-between.

Dynahead is certainly an eclectic bunch, although their palette is confined mainly to the prog metal canon. Seasoned prog metallers will not have too difficult a time recognizing where many of Dynahead ‘s ideas are influenced from; Dream Theater, Opeth, Pain of Salvation, and even Meshuggah all play their parts at one point or another. This does lead to some very good musical ideas, and although Dynahead are covering four or five band’s worth of territory relative to style, their emulation is convincing. Therein is the greatest problem I can recognize with ‘Youniverse‘, Dynahead , and the modern progressive metal scene at large; although the band are certainly capable musically, there is virtually nothing in terms of originality to digest here.

Although one might argue that a band combining the sounds of other bands makes something ‘original’, or even that there’s no such thing as ‘originality’, I call bullshit when it becomes painfully clear who a band is being influenced by at a given point. Take the album’s highlight and closer ‘Onset’; it is difficult to hear it and not hear Opeth somewhere in the mix. The songwriting does a decent job of tying these disparate elements together, but the ideas and melodies are not excellent enough to have Dynahead  stand out in spite of their lacking originality. With that being said, Dynahead is not a band without a great deal of potential and talent; it will just need the dedication to finding a particular identity to make them climb up the next rung in prog metal.

If there’s anything that can be unanimously agreed upon with this band, it’s that they don’t confine themselves to one particular genre. As mentioned above, Protean Collective‘s identify falls somewhere in between Tool and Meshuggah ultimately, but there are plenty of detours along the way. On top of their progressive hard rock foundation, there are a handful of instances when the band will dive into something jazzy. The occasional sudden focus on melody also has the tendency of making Protean Collective sound like an alternative rock band a la Soundgarden . True to the band’s own testimony, they manage to pull these diversity of styles off with coherence and cohesion. For an album that technically touches upon several genres, the sound feels consistently rooted in their dark, heavy brand of melodic metal.

Although the constant toss-up of styles keeps Protean Collective on their toes, some of the life that would have been in the music is lost to a pretty murky production. While the recording quality is not necessarily poor, everything save for the vocals sounds like its being played from underneath a blanket, or anything that would have a dulling effect on sound. While the importance of production pales in comparison to something like songwriting or musicianship, the production here does have an effect of keeping the sound of the performances on a tight leash, never letting them run free. In order to verify this, I tried listening to it on a couple of sound systems, but to no avail; Protean Collective are on a professional par as musicians, and they deserve a mix that will better showcase their talent.

Musically, Graham Bacher and Steph Goyer’s guitar licks are the highlight of Protean Collective‘s sound. As might easily be expected from the band, there are hints of everything in the guitarwork, although the band appear to favor the chugging Meshuggah-like rhythms. Apart from the occasional deviation- in which the peripheral influences joyously take over- the music is tossed between headbang-able rhythms and some more rock oriented strumming. The band perform impressively, but the songwriting itself does not always astound, especially when it feels that the band recycle some tricks over and over again. The greatest offender are Graham Bacher’s vocals, which, while strong from a technical standpoint, give the impression that he reuses melodies. In particular, there is this thing where he slowly raises the pitch of his voice to climb up to the next note; it’s difficult to describe without a strong background in musical theory, but a song does not go by where he does not use this particular mannerism, and by the end, it gets to be downright irritating.

Looking past these flaws is fairly easy when the talent and tight performance is taken into consideration, however. Protean Collective are in a rare case for progressive metal where they’re relatively new and already have a distinctive sound to them. Their influences are plainly evident, but even with the Meshuggah -type chugging, there is never the feeling that the band are attempting to shamelessly copy another band. For all of their diversity however, the songwriting on ‘Divided‘ is a little difficult to distinguish amongst themselves; save for some defining ‘moments’, many of the songs feel a little same-y. Far from perfection, Protean Collective‘s ‘Divided‘ feels like a step in a longer journey towards something really great, and it will be exciting to see where the band goes with this sound.

Much like their influences, Dynasty fall squarely in between the worlds of heavy metal and hardcore punk music. In its brief twenty two minute stretch, the album enjoys equal helpings of the take-no-shit attitude that defines punk music, as well as the more articulate riffing better associated with the metal sphere. The riffs here emphasize aggression and energy over melody, with the occasional band-based groove getting thrown in when it suits the mood. For an outsider, I find myself thinking of Dynasty‘s sound as what a thrash band would sound like without any lead guitars or ego. Although ‘Truer Living‘ is given a crisp production, the instrumentation feels fairly bland, with the potential saving grace falling to the drumwork, which thankfully rises above the ‘aim-for-par’ approach that the guitars and bass take. The drums highlight both the slower and moshier gears.

The vocals are definitely what drives Dynasty‘s sound, both in terms of the delivery and lyrical work. Without spoiling too much, Dynasty‘s vocals take the same gruff, street-chant style that one could come to expect from this style, not deep or garbled enough to be considered a growl, but making a total emphasis on aggression over melody. Although light on unique identity, Dynasty‘s vocal offering delivers a functional display of anger, and the liberal use of gang-chants are used well enough in most of the choruses. Lyrically, the band openly voices their Christian beliefs, which will undoubtedly have some of the ‘real’ metalheads among us against them without a second thought. My personal thoughts on religion aside, it does take a set of balls to for a metal-related band to identify with something that the metal community gets pretty militant against. Meaning aside however, Dynasty‘s lyrical work is straightforward and free of any bells or whistles, much like the music. Although Dynasty makes use of simple rhyme schemes to get their pro-faith message across, much of the vocals fall on the gang-chanting of didactic statements. Whether they’re exercising the importance of truth or declaring that they believe in Jesus, Dynasty don’t have enough meat to the lyrics to get me excited or angered, one way or another.

Although the album is only as long as a Saturday morning cartoon, this does work in Dynasty‘s favour. Although they manage to get a healthy sense of aggression across, they suffer from a weary lack of range or innovation in their music. I am hearing the sincerity of their rage, but sincerity alone is not quite enough in this case to make me feel it.

Although there are flashes of the band’s prior heaviness throughout Orange, many listeners may find themselves debating if it should be considered ‘metal’ at all. True enough, Dark Suns is more of a haven for proggers, but when was that ever a bad thing? With the quirk-fuelled opener ‘Toy”, the first thing that jumps out are the rich vintage organs. The guitars are beefy, yet not quite distorted, and while the band’s penchant for time signature-bending and jazzy flourishes could have had me wondering if they knew what decade they were playing in, the music on Orange is consciously aware of what has happened in prog since the ‘good old days’. Similar to the art-laden eclecticism of Pain of Salvation, Dark Suns‘ music often switch between the laid back, and energetic sides of their palette.

Although Dark Suns are drawing upon plenty of vintage sounds- including Beatles-era psychedelia- Orange is made modern by a fresh batch of modern styles. Although the influence of metal is made clear in the dark atmosphere and crunchy guitar riffs, post-rock is the most modern trend on Orange. This is not to say that Dark Suns perform strictly ‘post-rock’ passages, but rather that the ambiance and attention to cinematic build-up is worked in with the rest of the sound. Jazz works in much the same way; weaving in and out through the use of freak-out saxophones and inventive chord smithing. In a sense, Dark Suns brings the classic prog sound to the present in much the same way that modern legends Porcupine Tree do; by taking the template and ornamenting it with more recent innovations. Although the music is instrumentally complex and challenging, the diversity and tongue-in-cheek energy makes for a consistently engaging experience. An impressive amalgam of prog rock styles, old and new.