More often than not we do not see eye to eye with Metal Sucks here. But here is an exception to our normal disdain for mall metal. There is a commercial element to this dark progressive hard rock project, but it has enough heart to somehow win me over. The harmony vocals are very Alice In Chains if they went Djent in some respects as this isn't trying to be Meshuggah, but the multi-layers of ambiance and shimmering staccato passage would appeal to fans of Periphery. The prominent bass groove furthers the modern metal take on this post-nu metal grunge like affair. He opens this three song ep with the ominous build of "the Departure" and while the harmonies smack you upside the head reeking of Alice in Chains, they sound much more to me like post-Layne "Black Gives Way to Blue" era.
The songs sound very pristine every thing is perfectly placed, I was thinking who ever mixed this is a genius , then checked the credits and saw Ozmucur himself is responsible. I think he might be an even more talented producer than he is a song writer. They way this project has taken form as more of a solo outing / studio project the two work hand in hand to the point of where it's hard to hear where the production end and the song writing begins. His influences are easy to hear and these riffs are often pretty stock radio friendly metal/ hard rock, but the placement and layering of them is where the originality comes in. In other words He is painting these songs with primary colors, but it's where he puts them that makes the masterpiece.
I think "Far' is actually the strongest song on here. It is heavy emotionally and the bass line weaving around the guitar give the song an eerie ring. The big build has been done before, here it connects in a way that it normally doesn't speak to me, I think all the hidden layers within it's whirl wind contribute to this fact. The lyrics are so ambiguous it's a testament to his delivery for them to come across as impassioned as they do. On "the Clouds" this is done with more of a Katatonia feel. The tight harmonies give it a little more balls than Jonas normally injects into his passive aggressive introspection.Is this metal if we are comparing it to what we call metal here like....Darkthrone or Emperor, no, but if you like rock bands like A Perfect Circle and Katatonia that flirt with a more metal tone to their guitars and are heavy on the melancholy then this is worth a listen. I am curious to hear a full-length from this guy as he has raised the bar pretty high for him self.
Must listen to appreciate the In Silence
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