Second album from Cornish instrumental metallers
Instrumental albums are, in my opinion, so much harder to carry off successfully than most with lyrics. There’s nothing to distract from the music on a CD, and live, no obvious frontman for the audience to connect with. Which is why I’m not surprised that it’s metal that has embraced the instrumental more than any other genre at the moment.
If you thought instrumental records were rare, that’s nothing considering it’s from a hotly-tipped new Cornish band. Now we’re talking hens’ teeth.
Now with a steady line-up of four, these guys already have a solid reputation live. And on their second album you can hear why: instrumentals may not always have such a good atmosphere on CD, but this is something that could be a bit special on stage.
Musically speaking, there’s some excellent musicianship and a really good dynamic between all the band members. Yes, most of the songs are based around a single riff, so while songs like ‘Bringer of War’ can seem a bit repetitive, others like opener ‘The Static Movement’ are simply inspired. In that sense, it’s a bit hit-and-miss, so if you’re not really into your obscure metal already, give it a miss.
There’s a lot of potential for this band, considering it’s only their ‘difficult’ second album, the first with their current line-up. If you’re into Metallic or the more instrumental side of Maiden, give this a go. At times the influences are painfully obvious, but that doesn’t make the music bad in the slightest. So where could the band go from here? Well, there are a lot of classical influences, particularly in ‘Toccata’, and progressive rock, so they certainly haven’t boxed themselves in at all. These guys should make a name for themselves in the next few years, and with it refine their music a bit.