Review: Diagonal Path – Atheist Cathedrals

Style: Progressive metal, Alternative metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Chaos Divine, Kingcrow, Wheel (the Finnish one)
Review by: Doug
Country: US-NY
Release date: 28 October, 2022

Every once in a while, I appreciate a reminder that good music, and even good progressive music, doesn’t require twisting the complexity knob all the way to eleven. Providing just such an example with their sophomore album, Upsate-New-Yokers Diagonal Path keep mostly to the straight and narrow, their execution both uncontroversial and highly polished. Featuring the illustrious Baard Kolstad of Leprous fame as guest drummer, Atheist Cathedrals steeps itself in familiar tones, allowing the band members’ and guests’ talents to shine without becoming mired in attempts at overly flashy composition.

Now, don’t let my intro paragraph make you think that this album is shallow – it isn’t. Although I don’t mean this as a criticism per se, it’s true that Diagonal Path don’t exactly conquer new territory in their stylistic presentation, and with no songs above six minutes in length, their writing is practically minimalist by prog standards. What that means, though, is that no song overstays its welcome, and the band can show off complex rhythmic work unfettered by the drive to make everything more – longer, crazier, more unique. Each track makes its point and gets out of the way, allowing the listener to take in the music in full without being overwhelmed or getting stuck in a long high-concept track that doesn’t land.

Where do Diagonal Path integrate the obligatory prog complexity then? Well, primarily it shows in their usage of rhythm and time signatures. Pretty much every song on Atheist Cathedrals cycles through multiple different time signatures, and rarely does the music stay in basic 4/4 time for long. “Invasive Species” shows this off the most, settling into a strong 5-count groove as a starting point but also dipping into 3- and 6-count sections and tossing in odd unmatched measures here and there for extra flavor. Sure, none of this is unexpected for a progressive band, but in Diagonal Path‘s case it goes a long way to offset the lack of feature-length songs and some of the more mainstream tendencies earned from their alt-metal influences.

Atheist Cathedrals also showcases the band’s technical strengths in both the individual and collective performances. Kolstad of course needs no hyping up and remains as great as ever, delivering intricate percussion lines with undeniable precision. Guitarist and bassist Brendon Flynn similarly plays his parts with impeccable tightness and clarity of tone, while all of the instrumental parts blend seamlessly with the melodies of Greg Pier’s singing as well as the handful of guest guitar solos. The last puzzle piece is the production, which – with the exception of “Into the North,” where I think it gets a bit lost – leaves each element enough space and distinction to be heard on its own while also providing that satisfying final blend.

Although nothing in the collection is especially unique, nor is the combination as a whole, Atheist Cathedrals does pull together a few different musical influences which help add depth to the listening experience. There’s traditional progressive metal of course, but it’s interspersed with edgier, more alternative riffs and occasionally reverb-shrouded vocals drawn from the post-rock scene. Some individual songs also run farther afield, like “He Who Has Come to Know the World” which adds extra digital processing for some techy, Daft Punk-like vocals or “The Breach” where Pier’s high crooning fully completes his transformation into Muse’s Matt Belamy. The bulk of the performance, though, will be extremely familiar to most; the good production quality, great performances, and clever-but-not-ostentatious composition are what make Atheist Cathedrals worth your time.

After fighting down my natural compulsion towards all things new, unique, and boundary-breaking, I have little direct criticism to level at Diagonal Path. Their writing, performances, and sense of rhythm are all top-notch, and rarely do any of those features falter. Ultimately, though, I think the best praise I can offer is that Atheist Cathedrals meets the standard set by the progressive scene, and in this case that’s enough.

Recommended tracks: Index Case, As Rust Dulls the Edge, Invasive Species
You may also like: Inhalo, Opus Of A Machine, Traverser, Dry River
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Independent

Diagonal Path is:
– Greg Pier (vocals)
– Brendon Flynn (guitars, bass)
With guests:
– Baard Kolstad (drums)
– Henrik Danhage
– Wes Hauch
– Mattias IA Eklundh