Void Of Sleep : "New World Order"

At first they made me think they were going to be a heavier version of what Ghost currently does , then heading toward the second son I began to get strong Opeth vibes of them, then strong 90s vibes. They throw in some jumpy angular groove and work of the bouncing build up dynamic that Nu-metal once utilized, perhaps it is from a Tool influence, since they did have  profound impact on that genre of music and most of metal in the late 90s.  Not to say they are anything like Korn, but these guys are not your normal sludge merchants who were raised on a steady diet of Neurosis. The vocals are mostly clean there are a few throaty barks.

A more rock tinged riff leads off "Slaves Shall Serve". The vocals are a little more forceful and the song has almost a more classic gallop to it. It proves to quantify the heaviness factor when the band slows into more of a stomp. The melodies are more dialed in here. The summon a more Kyuss like rumble for " Ordo Ab Chao" , before spiraling into a more Tool like break down. No " New World Order" is not a cover of the Ministry song, it's slightly A Perfect Circle like excursion into mellow prog. It does build into a more Tool-ish rock and the song has a pleasing flow to it . These guys are obviously skilled musicians to bring Tool and Opeth comparisons, but this was not what I thought I was signing up for going into this. The hook on this song is one of the album's stronger vocals lines and while I prefer actual singing to growling, at times it seems as if the vocals could stand to choose more minor melodies to darken things up.  They might be influenced by Tool, they are not as dark as Tool.

The close out the album with the ambitious 14 minute "Ending Theme". They go a more Opeth route here , but with more of a doomy lumber to it. This song like many of the other have lyrics that dip into metaphoric conspiracy theories. The chorus doesn't really jump out of the wandering riff that might be the verse. At the six minute mark they enter a angular prog b-section that returns to one to the more pounding groove that they established in a manner similar to what King Crimson does on their "Red" album.  Their bassist does his job as being the sinewy glue to hold some of these riffs together. I am surprised there have not been a bunch of shredding guitar solos, instead they tend to hit you with one catchy riff after another,which there is nothing wrong with , but sometimes I find myself wondering where it all is leading to. The answer in the final two minutes of the song is into a doomy riff, that is followed by a riff that sounds like it is off of "Starless and Bible Black".

Overall these guys can not be denied in terms of their sound, they might not be the most original band under the sun , but at least they wear the influence of great bands on their sleeves.I'll give this one an 8, if you are just looking for some solid prog that is often more hard rock than metal , but is not mired down with too much wanking or high brow music theory then these guys are certainly worth your time.