Style: Progressive metal, post metal (mostly clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Earthside, (later) The Contortionist, VOLA
Country: USA (Utah)
Release date: 24 October 2025

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What’s happening in Utah? A state with little scene to speak of (to our knowledge, at least) seems to be announcing its emergence this year. We’ve reviewed a few promising groups from the area this year, including Opethian act Sindar, the djenty post-metal of Carian, and, of course, the state swancore of Eidola (I confess I only listened to Sindar). Also, a pair of Mormons keep walking around my slice of the UK, and if they want to convert Brits, they’ll have a tough bloody time. I imagine they get a lot of brusque, “What are you selling?” responses to their pleasant inquiries. Anyway, that seems like enough words for an intro (can you tell I was struggling?), so we’ll get on with today’s review of Utahn group Blackshape. 

On Prismer I, Blackshape are on a mission to smash through the cognitive confines of the single perspective and flow into a boundless, empathic multiplicity. The title is a blend of ‘prism’ and ‘prisoner’, speaking to the prison of our own limited perspective and the prism of experiences that could tear it open. With expansive atmospheres, a huge vocal presence, and massive riffs, the four-piece’s sound bears resemblance to that of Earthside or the softer material from The Contortionist’s last album Clairvoyant. A mix of instrumental and vocal-driven tracks, Prismer I is a punchy, thirty-minute EP which presumably begets a Prismer II to come.

The general tenor is dichotomy; Blackshape juxtapose soaring atmospheric synths and breathy falsetto against enormous post-metal riffage, channeling thundering 7-string riffs, portentous tremolos, and neck-spraining drumwork. Opening number “It’s Easier to Disappear” features the plaintive plea to ‘show me everything’ and ‘break me like the fourth wall’. With that in mind, the band do everything to sonically smash said wall on the instrumental number “Break Me”. On “Like the Fourth Wall” (the astute reader will have noted the song titles reiterate the album’s main lyrical beats), the band blend both sides of the established sound rather successfully, closing with a powerful backing chant and a repeated lead line of ‘I see you’, capped off with a huge outro riff. 

The three later tracks essentially repeat the formula from the first half: we get a dynamic instrumental track, a more emotive vocal-led track, and an airy bookend. “Falling” fills the instrumental role, veering between more monolithic post-metal sections and riffs straight out of mathcore. “Feels Like Flying” sees breathy vocals take centre-stage once more, with less chaotic post-metal beneath, and some rather benthic bends in the riff, recalling the likes of VOLA; the pressure finally pushing to a cathartic scream of ‘no one can catch me’ at the track’s climax. Naturally, the eponymous closer “Prismer I” restates the sonorous ambient experience from the intro track, bracketing the record, and cutting off mid-word as we ramp up toward part II. 

Essentially, Prismer I lives by its dichotomy; the shtick is Blackshape’s greatest strength and ultimate weakness. A half-an-hour record becomes a little predictable in a short space of time, partly by design, but I can’t help but think if there were only one hour-long Prismer experience, the overreliance on this formula would see the album quickly outstay its welcome. Call it a review of material not yet heard if you want, but Prismer II will have the challenge of working within the established Blackshape sound while trying not to sound too beholden to the formula; not to a single perspective, mind, because they definitely have two.

That caveat aside, it’d be hard to deny that Prismer I is an emotionally complex and satisfying slab of progressive post-metal, benefitting from a strong vocal performance, as well as the instrumental chops to keep the non-vocal passages gripping. Maybe we can never truly understand another human mind, imprisoned as we are in our own perspective, but it’s an admirable job to try. In the meantime, Mr. Gorbachev, Blackshape have their own compositional walls to tear down.

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Recommended tracks: It’s Easier to Disappear, Break Me, Like the Fourth Wall
You may also like: Giant’s Knife, Ihlo, Riviẽre
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent

Blackshape is:
– Bryan Lee
– Joseph Woit
– Josh Dunn
– Scott Shepard