Style: Prog-Metal/Jazz (Harsh vocals)
Review by: Chris
Country: Germany
Release date: 04-09-2020
The Encounter seems to be an apt name for this album, seeing as this blend of jazz and almost death/tech style metal does seem to come from its own little planet outside of the rest of the scene. It’s probably the closest thing to Special Defects I’ve heard which is pretty cool. Really a 30 minute song split into 10 pieces for release, The Encounter benefits from that with a continuing atmosphere throughout, rife with great performances and wild, fun musical decisions. It definitely feels like one of those albums which really takes on the improvisational sensibilities from its jazz influence, though it has those moments of the death influences really push through and make themselves known.
It begins with a 50s style alien encounter voice over which wouldn’t be out of place inside a tape Mulder and Scully find inside some abandoned bunker, or a radio broadcast akin to War of the Worlds. Soon after the synth and voice over is broken by dissonant angular rhythms and harsh vocals, before really hitting the first taste of the kind of jazz soloing and leads you can expect to hear from the rest of the album. “Signal-To-Noise” gives a real nice taste of the vocals, having them act almost as another percussive elements (akin to Meshuggah) over the broken rhythms and soft, moody synths and guitar padding underneath.
The drumming on this record is definitely a treat to listen to with the spastic interpretation of the underlying timing of the songs and fun syncopation of parts. While I enjoy the rhythms the guitars make I’m not sure the tonality of them fully landed for me, though I learned to let it go. “Eigenlicht” is where the bass gets a real moment to shine, and does it wonderfully with a nice walking line feature section while everything else (except maybe the drums) takes a back seat. I enjoyed the vocals and their raw delivery albeit them maybe being a bit too forward in the mix for my taste. That said, I was a bit disappointed in how little they were used in the first half or so, really only being on “Signal-To-Noise”. They make a real comeback on “Rebiogenesis”, which begins the three song run where I think the album really establishes itself and succeeds. I felt the first half felt a tiny bit disconnected from the back due to the missing vocals, but it’s a minor note against it. “Fuga Finalis” has a fun moment where instead of the descent into jazz you are treated with a much more heavy prog style lead into a synth solo, further solidifying the bands ability to do whatever they feel and have it fit the composition.
I found the mix a little grating especially on some setups, which may be abrasive to some people. Additionally I did feel some of the more Meshuggah-esque sections focusing entirely on the low string angular rhythms got a bit less satisfying over time as they seemed to fade together in my head. Like most albums treading into this jazz-fusion area of things, the album does lose itself every once in a while by diving too hard into another solo section and not returning when it feels like it is time. Sometimes when the vocals or rhythmic parts come back it felt too much like a relief than a pleasant surprise; if the jazz-fusion aspect is really your thing then I doubt you would. feel the same. Overall this is a pretty cool record that I haven’t really heard anything else like (especially not this year) that is well held together as a total piece. Impeccably performed, well written, but perhaps a bit too much for some people. For those it’s not too much for, it should be as fulfilling as an album can be.
Recommended tracks: Rebiogenesis, Fuga Finalis, Asmodeus
Recommended for fans of: Meshuggah, Special Defects, Allan Holdsworth??
Final verdict: 7.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook
Label: Rising Nemesis Records – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook
Intercepting Pattern is:
Marte Auer (guitars, synths)
Clemens Engert (bass)
Lille Gruber (drums)
Daniel Sander (vocals)
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