Style: traditional prog metal (mixed vocals)
Review by: Sam
Country: Canada
Release date: 6 March, 2021
I have no clever intro to write this time, so I’ll just dive straight into it. Yes, this my dozenth band in the vein of Dream Theater, who’d have thought. Here we have a band that has been gaining quite some steam on review sites, and rightfully so.
In a genre often more focused on melody, this band is surprisingly focused on the rhythmic side, changing it up frequently. It’s impressive how dynamic this band is, completely avoiding any sense of formulaic-ness from the get-go. I can’t always follow where they’re going, but most of the time it works pretty well. Another thing giving this band identity is the very out-there vocals. In the words of Tim, he “sounds like your Scottish uncle’s hungover morning mood.” Whether that’s for better or for worse I’ll leave you to decide.
The album has a very 80s feel in a lot of the guitar work, with often thrash-inspired riffs causing severe head-bopping. He also brings in some early power metal feel every once in a while. In any case, it’s a lot of guitar wizardry. He effortlessly keeps up with whatever time signature shenanigans the band goes through, and plays all sorts of intricate riffing patterns and fancy lead work. The other instrumental performance are also very technical. I’m not a very big fan of the vocal style, but he has a pretty big range and actually pulls off his drunken master style pretty well. It ranges from a strange mumbling, to more dramatic wails, and even harsh vocals a couple of times. He caught me off-guard a good bunch of times with his varied delivery. Strange as it may be, it’s a very fun listening experience.
And that reaches the essence of this album for me. The Uninvited King is above all, a fun record. Each twist in the songwriting, each display of technical skill, it’s written with a sense of light-heartedness that never fails to put a smile on my face. The band clearly had fun in making this. However, it also comes with a big caveat that they fail to pull off the more serious moments that truly make the material stick. As fun as the album is, there are few moments where the melodies resonate with me emotionally. A big part of the album consists of driving riffage with quirky vocals, which is fun, but also gets a bit old if there aren’t enough melodies to provide some counterweight. I often liken riffs to bread: fundamental to the experience, but by itself it becomes dry. A lot of The Uninvited King feels like eating bread to me. It’s good bread, but still just bread. I just wish they’d gone for an emotional response more often. The keyboards are under-utilized in this regard: there are cool synth patches in the first half of the album, but beyond that they often feel relegated to background duty aside from the occasional solo. Some more piano or gentle synth parts would have been appreciated. Also the solos are more shreddy than emotional, and the drunken-master vocals don’t help matters either, nor does the rather dry production.
All things considered though, I’d consider The Uninvited King a definite win. The band has clear songwriting chops and a lot of technical skill. They don’t quite have the emotional side of things nailed down yet, but when it comes to unpredictability and joy of listening, they have plenty going for them. If you’re into the zanier side of prog metal, give this band a spin. They’ve got a bright future ahead of them, that’s for sure.
Recommended tracks: Shadow Man, The Darkness Within, Celebration of Light
Recommended for fans of: Haken, Dream Theater, BTBAM (Coma Ecliptic and onwards)
Final verdict: 7/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent
Heyoka’s Mirror is:
– Andrew Balboa (vocals, keyboards, guitars)
– Omar Sultan (guitars)
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