Chaos Cannot Be Controlled!
Mirrors of Obsidian is a progressive death metal band from Ireland. Having been created by 2 members of folk metal group Celtic Legacy, this new project, obviously, takes a more creative sound as it's root. This group, so far only 2 members, really takes some chances on this debut, as well as sticking to a very proggy core.
The 2 members that compose this band do a good job trying to get something unique while still having numerous influences shine through. Ciaran Ennis takes care of the vocals, while his brother Eoin Ennis performs everything else. These two do get a sound that a lot of people could very easily grasp onto for similarities to other more familiar sounds. Obvious influences that shine through include artists like Meshuggah, Fates Warning, Fear Factory, and Atheist probably the most noticeably.
The instrumental side of things is very impressive, with an obvious nod to Meshuggah in the sound of the guitar. The riffing is very melodic and soulful, but also technical and progressive. There should be enough time signature bashing to get any fan of progressive styles of music excited. There are also some moments where things get a bit more atmospheric and calm as well, not allowing this entire album to bash your face in with time signature butchering, and just to make this clear, this does not mean that these guys are going to be the next Spiral Architect by throwing out a time signature out the window.
Songs are very well crafted on here, allowing things to stay very structured and melodic, but interesting enough to keep your attention. A track like the opener, Slaves to Numbers, is technical, but still very melodic in comparison to a track like Hive Mind which is probably the most technical and progressive track on the album, think Sikth for this. No matter how proggy and techy a song may get, you always have a chorus where you can kind of put everything together for a minute in your head if you're not getting it.
The vocals side is just as competent, showcasing a very impressive range of styles. While the growl is a bit more Meshuggah than for my personal taste, the singing and clean vocal styles are much more varied. A track like Exist By Program has a bit more of a leaning toward Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory), while one of the epics on the album, In Dissonance We Breath, has a bit of an Eric Clayton (Saviour Machine) to it. There is enough growling to please any extreme metal fan, but the cleans are more of a modern take on a more soulful singing voice.
Overall, this is a very promising debut album. Fans of progressive metal/rock should definitely check this out, there's a lot of good stuff on here. This is definitely a band to watch, lets hope they can follow this up with another great record.
Overall Score: 8.5
Highlights: Celestial Fusion, In Dissonance We Breath, Imminent Chaos Complete
Here You Can Download The Album For Free:
http://mirrorsofobsidian.bandcamp.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment