Style: djent, progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: TesseracT, The Contortionist
Review by: Chris
Country: Georgia, United States
Release date: 28 June 2019
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This review was originally published in the 2nd Missed Albums 2019 issue of The Progressive Subway.]
As a quick disclosure, I live in the same city as these guys, have played shows with them and like them as people/buds. That said, as a musician I want and expect people I know and are friends with to review/talk about music I make honestly, and I give the same way I take.
With that out of the way, let’s dive into Hollowform. Spirit Healer are a 5 piece progressive metal outfit hailing from Atlanta, GA that released Hollowform as their debut release/LP. In a pretty ballsy and ambitious move, they decided to make that first release a very fleshed out concept album, which I recommend looking through on their website which is linked above.
Musically, Hollowform opens with a real nice synth soundscape to set the stage before dropping you into Meshuggah-esque syncopated chugs. Based on the guitar timbre and drumming one expects a Jens Kidman esque vocal to come in but instead you are greeted with a mid timbre voice which floats above the djenty guitars, giving flavors of a TesseracT esque dichotomy in tones. Throughout this album you will find much of this, with the guitars and drums playing with syncopation feels and rhythms while synths and other guitars paint backing melodies to compliment the soaring vocals.
Hollowform does many things well. For one, it sounds stellar. The production is great though maybe a bit sterile or clean for some people’s taste, but it’s a decision that makes sense for this record based on the genre space it sits in. The sense of atmosphere and continuity in this album are a definite high spot, which very much contribute to the “world building” aspect I feel often gets neglected in these concept album attempts by newer bands. As a drummer, the drums on this album are fun to follow for the interesting “play in the space” the feels have on a few of the songs. There are some great riffs in this record, to the point I found myself wishing there was a little more riff and a bit less djent at times. The vocals sound great and have some real high moments and really great harmony choices that help pad out the records soundstage.
A few critiques I have are that I feel some of the real heavy and rhythmic parts especially the extreme djenty moments feel a bit forced or tacked on, but it could be my personal tastes coming through. I tend to like subtle rhythms tricks instead of obvious strange pattern type pieces, so for me the moments where the album sits on a groove with a strange tick feel much more exciting than the moments it feels like the atmosphere drops and the strange chug rhythms come through. I feel Hollowform also suffers slightly from the slightly samey feel the record has tempo-range and feel wise. It seems definitely done to elicit the atmosphere (which I admire!) but I think for some listeners it could be a bit tough to wade through on a first listen; I know even for me sometimes I get that feeling (this is similar to Language by The Contortionist, another album with great atmosphere and feel but can drag for some listeners feel and tempo wise). I would even say that while there are some moments where they throw a few curveballs, I’m not sure anything here surprised me after the first couple songs, instead having varying highs and lows of what was already coming. To me this kinda gave a feeling of playing it safe a bit where I would love to see more experimentation. Lastly, while there are some super great vocal melodies on these tracks, there are some spots where I didn’t really find myself entirely engaged with the vocals and kinda preferred what was going on beneath them.
Overall, I really, really love this album. It is with that idea in mind that I think this is where my score kinda stakes my place as a tough grader around these parts. Hollowform really is a treat but I think some listeners will have trouble clicking with it; those that it does click with will be so glad it did. If I had to give a personal one sentence review of Spirit Healer as a band, I would say they are what I wish TesseracT was. I think these guys have really put together something great here but I know there is room to grow and really finish fleshing out their sound and niche to further differentiate themselves from the djent noise in the genre right now.
Recommended tracks: Incredible Views, A Memory of the Ritual, Zero at the Bone
You may also like: Stellar Circuits, Ihlo, Clement Belio
Final verdict: 8.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Independent
Spirit Healer is:
– JT O’Neill (vocals)
– Shane Driscoll (guitars, backing vocals)
– Stephen Backus (guitars)
– Evan Driscoll (bass)
– Taylor Ryan (drums)
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