Review: Effuse – On Others

Style: Progressive metal, post-hardcore (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Contortionist, Circa Survive, Voyager, Ions
Country: Georgia, United States
Release date: 18 July 2025

[An up-front disclaimer: Effuse’s vocalist, Chris Deese, is a fellow writer here at the Subway and also manages some of our social media. Though avoiding bias is impossible in this situation, this review reflects my honest take on On Others free of external forces or pressures.¹]

An inexorable bond exists between a piece of art and the world that surrounds it. Artistic expression is virtually impossible in a void, as the lived experience and ideals of the artist inevitably bleed into the design of a work. How, then, does an artist relate and react to the influence of the outside world? Atlanta, Georgia’s Effuse investigates this topic on latest EP, On Others. Do they successfully navigate the waters of artistic expression, or does the “Augury” foresee bad tidings for the quintet?

Adorned with touches of post-metal and post-hardcore, On Others explores an airy and cinematic take on progressive metal by way of Clairvoyant (The Contortionist). Tension-and-release comprises the central songwriting approach, encouraging ideas and moods to smoothly flow across its runtime. The use of a bright-yet-gloomy tonality in the guitarwork imbues a sense of drama and a wistful vocal style helps anchor songs melodically and inject the occasional earworm. Each track features punctuated grooves that dance around swirling polyrhythms and weightless tremolos; many of the EP’s grander moments evoke the feeling of being swept into the air or being submerged under giant crashing waves.

On Others’ greatest compositional strength lies in its monolithic structure. Every piece establishes its own identity through an internal ebb and flow while contributing to the EP’s greater ideas. Effortless transitions further heighten this sense of interconnectedness: every track either matches or builds on the momentum of the previous, whether it be the exhilarating switchup between chunky grooves on “Observer” and “Augury” or the grand synthesizers and fading guitars of “Orbweaver” descending into the gently picked melodies of “Two Cathedrals”. The bridge of each track provides additional contrast as Effuse explore more intense and abrasive textures through harsh vocals and frenetic drumming. Closer “Two Cathedrals” proves to be the most experimental in its stuttering and antsy climax, but never quite settles into its grooves, interrupting the track’s momentum and diminishing its grandiosity in the process.

Atop the hefty grooves, vocalist Chris Deese adds a vivid melancholic flair by tapping into the melodic sensibilities of post-hardcore, particularly that of Circa Survive’s Anthony Green. The performance on opener “Observer”, for example, is in-your-face and dramatic as Deese leans into a forceful delivery, throwing his voice around with momentum and even a bit of grit. On the other hand, much of “Augury” is plaintive and delicate, showcasing restraint and waiting until the bridge to let loose and explore staccato rhythms. Deese’s clean vocals are undeniably expressive and powerful, and his harshes are crystal clear in their enunciation, but they don’t quite match the expressiveness and bite of the cleans. As a consequence, the harsh vocal sections tend to come across as more functional in purpose, save for “Augury”, which manages to capture attention through compelling rhythms and effective interplay between the vocals and drums. Ironically, the harsh vocals shine the most when they are used as an accent to the cleans or when the two are harmonized. This is done to great effect during the closing moments of “Orbweaver”, where the cleans and harshes engage in a lockstep dance before the harshes drop out for an expansive conclusion.

The sense of melancholy embodied by the vocal performance extends to the EP’s lyrical themes. Focusing on the relationship between artist and audience, On Others is a reflection on the interpretation of art and the artist’s reaction to external forces. “Observer” discusses a breach of boundaries at the hands of an audience who may read into a piece too deeply or project their own worldview onto it, taking their read as gospel and engaging in the ‘death of the author’ as the piece’s original intent is masked. This theme is explored further on “Augury”, where the narrator betrays his frustration at this side of the audience: Deese opines that ‘The way we read the air’ is ‘Almost comical’ and refers to the audience’s interpretations as an ‘unbearable weight that holds me down’. The track later suggests that it may not even matter if a personal touch is missing from the art as people will fill in the blanks with their misunderstandings regardless, considering that ‘They won’t see / They won’t know / If I remove myself’.² 

Though the lyrics are a bit esoteric at times—I struggle with the metaphors on “Orbweaver” and “Two Cathedrals” and their place in the overall theme—there is a strong sense of cohesion through the reintroduction and repurposing of ideas. Repeated references are made to ‘painted skies’, representing the myriad approaches to artistic interpretation both intended and unintended by the artist. Additionally, the EP features many nods to the suggestion of ‘removing one’s self’ from the artistic creation process in an attempt to distance the artist’s works from their own ego and transcend potential outside influences.

Through cinematic and airy pieces, On Others weaves together groovy progressive metal and somber melodies into a panoramic and free-flowing musical experience. In both its imperfections and its lyricism, On Others effectively showcases the limitations of art as a means to convey ideas due to external influences and the internal world of the artist. This is of course not expressed as a motivation to stray from artistic pursuits, but as a way to cherish and celebrate the weird and wonderful evolution of ideas from the mind of the artist to the mind of the audience. Regardless of intention or interpretation, there is no better joy than to sing your melancholia out loud or to immerse yourself in grand, sweeping atmospheres.

Recommended tracks: Observer, Augury, Orbweaver
You may also like: Lattermath, Valis Ablaze, Hologram Earth, Inhalo
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent

Effuse is:
– Chris Deese (vocals, keyboards)
– Taylor Kuter (guitars)
– Kane Lewis (guitars)
– Christopher Kingsbury (bass)
– Bob Stocking (drums)

1. That’s a cheeky bit of foreshadowing for you. Also, hi Chris! ↩︎
2. I’d be remiss to not mention the sheer irony in presenting my interpretation of Effuse’s work here and the funny feeling of critiquing and interpreting a piece of art that is in many ways about the interpretation and critique of art. ↩︎