Review: Confessor “Blueprint Soul” CD

Fuck yeah. Who wasn't psyched to learn that Confessor was back in action and recording new material? Come on, seriously. Having followed the band since the early- to mid-90's and then checking out some of the members' subsequent work in Fly Machine, I was definitely excited to hear this new demo. The lineup is that of the original "Condemned" sessions sans the replacement for sadly deceased guitarist Ivan Colon, whose untimely passing has in many ways given the band a new life. Stylistically, however, while of course immediately identifiable as Confessor, this material is far more streamlined than the insanely fucked up and impossible to follow time signatures that basically made the band's prior recorded output the benchmark for obscure math metal - and one that never has been and probably never will be paralleled. The vocals, though, are much improved. Still high-pitched and delivered in a truly unique manner, but the moody singing itself is smoother and more controlled, not as high and wavering as in the past. So that definitely eases a bit of the "acquired taste" factor, although that's not to say the performance here is a vast departure from the days of old. "Sour Times" is the darkest and most somber piece, with slower tempos and some Sabbath-y riffing; "Hibernation" definitely gets into some quirkier rhythms that flirt with atypical time signatures and stuttered patterns, with a few passages that are very reminiscent of some of the classics off of "Condemned"; and "Blueprint Soul" is somewhat similar in its use of minimal changeups with the time signatures and some chord progressions reminiscent of the old days, though a little thicker and more consistent. Overall the tracks are bleak and midpaced, with a cohesive atmosphere both musically and vocally, hitting on elements that would appeal to the doom and "stoner rock" crowds without coming close to falling into either category by a longshot. The recording is great for a demo, as one would expect from such veterans, but nonetheless I have no real complaints. You can hear all of the instrumentation, it's nice and clear, etc. The drums are nice and natural, the bass peeks through just enough to make itself known, the guitars drive the songs, and the vocals are very tastefully mixed so as not to make any of the harmonies too dominant or let the commanding nature of the singing get overbearing. The CD-R comes in a slim jewel case with simple color artwork and minimal text information. The lyrics are included in the booklet, with content totally in line with the band's early work - as hinted at by the cover art and its use of words like "suffer", "despair", "misery", and the like. "Days, I waste away, Dreading more, the next day, Retreat back, inside my shell, Feel the pain, of living hell..." Now, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the crazy time signatures, so... I do want to point out that those totally fucked up elements of the band's writing are definitely something I want to hear more of in these new songs. Don't get me wrong, these are very well written tracks and I find this demo to be of great overall quality, but this is a legendary band that's known for writing songs so fucked up you couldn't even figure out how they counted the shit out, much less how they played it so flawlessly or wrote it in the first place! And they've got one of the greatest drummers in the history of mankind, so while the dude's playing can do no wrong and is always a highlight, the linear nature of the songwriting here definitely strips things down so much that a little flare is lost all around - including that of the percussion. So, in my opinion, a balance between the over the top madness of the early work and the more tangible direction of this demo would be a good home for Confessor circa 2004 (which "Hibernation" is starting to get at on this particular release). Regardless though, This is a great demo and Confessor fucking rules, end of story. I'll be blown away if they don't get signed right away based on history alone. I sincerely hope this reunion isn't a short-lived one.