Review: Rototypical – Volume I: The Tactician

Rototypical – Volume I: The Tactician
Style: Whack Prog Metal (mixed vocals) 
Review by: Zach 
Recommended for fans of: Between the Buried and Me, Native Construct, Protest the Hero, Haken riffs
Country: California, United States
Release date: 30 July, 2021

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This review was originally published in the “Albums We Missed in 2021” Issue of The Progressive Subway.]

Every now and then, there comes a debut album that just completely shakes up the balance of the prog community. And the biggest one to recent memory is the late, great Native Construct’s opus Quiet World. You just know an album is downright outstanding when it launches a thousand new bands all trying to capture that same sound. And boy, did that impact last. So many bands trying to balance the theatricality, storytelling, and BTBAM-worship, and so many of them fail to capture what made Quiet World so special. Only The World is Quiet Here seemed to make their style stick, but they’re one in a thousand at this point.

[Editor’s note: their bass player Tyler used to write for this blog. If you’re reading this Tyler, I still expect corny spoken word on album 2 :P]

Enter Rototypical. A young band releasing their ambitious debut just shy of 70 minutes. When you release an album that long, you’re either really sure of the music you created, or you just don’t know how to cut songs down. But, I’ve listened to (and liked) albums that are considered “overlong”, so this wasn’t anything new to me. Plus, the album art is pretty. What do I have to lose here? 

‘Flint and Tinder’ sets the stage in rain, a soft humming gives way to an arpeggiated guitar riff. Immediately apparent is the theatrical opening accompanied by Pat Savage’s clean vocals. And then we’re treated to a quick legato freakout reminiscent of Protest the Hero. The riffs here are clearly BTBAM influenced, but somehow…catchier? Even between all the shreddy-ness, I could clearly define melodies and recurring passages through the first song. A lot more than I can say for most of these bands. 

And unlike so many of these copycats, they give the listener time to breathe instead of having an endless onslaught of riff salad thrown the listener’s way. Instead of feeling like 12 riffs jammed together with a bass solo in the middle, there’s clear song structure here. Each song on this massive album flows into the other, with the obligatory short interlude before those monstrous two ending tracks. Speaking of monstrous, the “Honir” suite, nearly an EP in of itself, takes up a majority of this album. And “Honir” is where I realized something about this album that makes it truly special in my mind. The riffs are insanely technical, but Rototypical aren’t going crazy with switching it up every five seconds. They let their riffs develop a little bit, only changing them or going for a transitional passage just before they become tired. 

“Girl of Gold” is this album’s breather track, precisely placed right after “Honir” to let the listener regulate their heartbeats. But “breather” is subjective because this track launches you straight into the 12 minute ‘Lunacy’ in spectacular fashion. And my god, this track has it all. Syncopation, jazzy melodies, dissonant chords, and a chuggy riff reminiscent of that one from Periphery’s ‘Reptile’. On its own, this track is an excellent showcase of how Rototypical build upon riffs and progressions. 

And just when I was ready to say this album didn’t need another track to end it off, “Relic Glow” starts with a reprise of the main melody of “Perfecsion”, bringing the album full circle. Yes, sure, this is nearly 70 minutes long. But without this closer, the album would be incomplete. Could these two closers be trimmed just a tad? Sure. But as it stands right now, are they amazing songs to close out the album with? Hell yes. 

If I have one thing to say to Rototypical for Volume II, it’s to let themselves experiment a bit more with their own style. They wear their influences on their sleeve, which is far from a bad thing. But I would love to hear something that sounds like them, rather than a combination of my favorites (and clearly their favorites). Either way, this record is truly fantastic, and I’d say Rototypical stuck the landing on this ambitious debut. 

Recommended tracks: Cyclic: Bereft to Sodden, the entire Honir suite, Lunacy 
You may also like: A Novelist, Cryptodira, Cyborg Octopus, Replacire, Chronicles
Final Verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Instagram

Label: Independent

Rototypical is:
– Pat Savage (all instruments)