Five tracks of frantic, grinding metalcore with scathing vocal screams, lots of shifts in tempo and quick riff changes, a good amount of technicality, and some slightly jazzier influences in the form of really thick and prominent basslines along with an occasional nod to Cynic/Atheist (on a pretty marginal scale). I'm sort of torn on this. The songwriting isn't really my thing as some of the riffing is a little more jarring and discordant than I'd prefer, so there's not a great deal to grasp, and the performances need a little bit of tightening up so that everyone's totally synched to one another... but there are curious elements here. For example, "Arrows of Helios" mixes in some classic grind power chords and chunky picking patterns with all of the ascending/descending notes and flurried chords, eventually slowing down with an oppressive rhythm that leans towards a sludge sort of thing. I'm all for that kind of variety. On the other hand, "The Echinoderm" is a pretty terrible track with some obnoxious blasts and tremolo picking that make for an irritating 2:30 (coincidentally it's also the longest song herein). The recording needs some work too, though. The bass sounds pretty damn good and is allowed enough space to be a prominent player, and the drums aren't half bad for being a little raw. I think the guitars need a little something more though, be it a more fluid appeal, or a little more clarity... I'm not totally sure what's missing. I'm not generally into this style of screaming as it is, so for me the vocals aren't going to really change anything regardless. They've got a decent placement and sound, but I'd still rather hear the music driving full force. This is some sort of professionally printed and duplicated CD-R, so the printing is a little strange, but does look very nice, and I really like the design as well. The artwork is consistent in color and style, and the text looks great. There's not much there, some of the imagery repeats, and no lyrics are included, but if nothing else it does really catch the eye and create an interesting aesthetic. In the end this isn't as cool as I had hoped. The feel of the artwork had me expecting something a bit darker and more emotional on a musical level, but aside from one damn good song and a few scattered moments of true power, this EP - even at a mere 10 minutes - just doesn't do much for me. If they tighten up their musicianship just a smidge they'll have the potential to be a real bruiser of a technical metalcore band, but they'll definitely need to focus on songwriting more in the long run.
[Doll House]
Running time - 9:58, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Arrows of Helios]
Doll House Recordings - http://www.dollhouseinc.com
