Seven Impale – Contrapasso, Review and Interview

by Matt Matheson

Seven Impale Front promo highest res RGB 3000x3000“What is the next step?”

This question is the first thing crooned by vocalist-and-guitarist Stian Økland on Seven Impale‘s sophomore album, Contrapasso. It was also the question burning in my mind after several months of listening to their debut album, City of the Sun, which was my favorite record of 2014. I’ve heard plenty of bands with elements of both jazz and prog rock, but never one that truly synthesizes those styles in perfect balance. Typically you can feel whether a band is rooted in jazz and incorporating some elements of prog or vice versa. With this … Read more

Mini-Reviews XIII: Double Trouble!!!

by Dæv Tremblay

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Yes. I’m away for a week, and what do I get? A shitload of stuff to listen to. Here’s a collection of it, some good, some okay, some bad!
Let’s start this off with something pretty good, shall we? Unfathomable Ruination is as brutal as the name suggests. Finitude is a progressive brutal death metal album that’s like Between the Buried and Me with all the heavy and none of that softer side of theirs, with a bit of Viraemia thrown in for good measure. I guess it’s the dawn of a new era for brutal death metal, the time … Read more

Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence

by Jeff Nixon

transcendenceDevin Townsend has gone many different musical places in his career, frequently doing something drastically different that what he’s done before, most notably on his first four albums in the Devin Townsend Project with Ki, Addicted, Deconstruction, and Ghost. Transcendence is no exception, as it takes his sound to a new level. On this album, Devin took input from the rest of the band, musicians he’s been working with for 10+ years, and relinquished some control to them. Because of this, the band sounds more united than on other recent DTP albums, like Epicloud and Sky Blue.

This was brought … Read more

Monthly Recommendations: August 2016

by Dæv Tremblay

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“[Leonard and Superposition] both are avant-garde fusion jazz albums that are incredibly intricate and interesting to listen to. The chords, progressions, themes and melodies… everything on record is just excellent. On top of that, “Leonard” is a 35-minute triptych written by Dan Ryan and played by the band. […] They are both impressively fantastic!”
Full mini-review.
“Coming out on the twenty-first of August, “Sonance” is Contemplator’s new album. If you don’t remember them, their 2013 self-titled release was delicious and surprising. With “Sonance”, the band incorporates much more orchestral elements to their soundscape, and Colin Marston’s mixing talents insufflates life … Read more

Mini-Reviews XII

by Dæv Tremblay

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Let’s kick this off with Bangladeafy‘s new ear-splitting EP, Narcopaloma. This New York drums and bass duo plays their very own brand of experimental technical math rock. Their first two releases were captivating at first but quickly fell out of favour, but this doesn’t seem to be the case here. The riffs are groovy despite their insane intricacies and they segue perfectly one into the next, making for a pleasurable listening experience. It’s whole-heartedly recommended.
Norwegian prog rock band Airbag is apparently not new to the game, but I only discovered them through their 2016 album, Disconnected. … Read more