In terms of musical discovery in 2010, there was one 'genre', or more like one onomatopoeia that seemed to dominate throughout much of the year.While you've got those who'll argue that it can be classified as it's own sub-genre - amongst a plethora of existing sub-genres - others will say that it isn't.
It's all a matter of perspective, but one can easily argue that Djent is less about a being it's own standalone genre, but rather being a technical set piece that when used well, can incorporate itself into almost any type of metal (or otherwise!) with varying results.
Last year saw a lot of news and releases in the Djent circuit, including the release of Periphery's debut self-titled album, the release of TesseracT's Concealing Fate EP and many other masterpieces of Djentistry of which it would take way too long to list.
Fact of the matter is Djent is here, and it's picking up steam, with many scheduled (and hopeful) releases to come throughout the year. Some of which myself and many others have been anticipating for quite some time, and other nuggets sure to please.
Here's part one of the list of Djentlemen artists and releases that are currently On the Radar for 2011:
Label: Unsigned
Genre: Instrumental Progressive Metal
Release Date: TBD, 2011
A two-member instrumental project out of San Francisco, California, Nova is the spawn of Chazz McConnell (Sol Asunder), and Max Seeman, (Anomalous). Nova is yet another in a long list of interesting instrumental projects to pop out from the woodwork, so to speak. They've released a number of tracks which are available on their MySpace, Soundclick and Bandcamp pages.
The tracks Ley Lines, Temporal and Shard should provide you with a good idea of what you can expect from these guys on their future full-length release. Blending sounds that are both technically strong, mellow and at times, just plain funky.
Label: Mediaskare Records
Genre: Groove Metal / Progressive
Release Date: Summer/Fall 2011
One of my favorite discoveries of 2010, Volumes is a six piece metal outfit out of Los Angeles, California. Grouping together musicians from a variety of backgrounds, they've created a sound which incorporates the intricacies of jazz fusion, the aggressiveness of straight to the core Metal, and everything in between, including the kitchen sink.
Their debut EP The Concept of Dreaming was my second favorite EP of 2010, behind only TesseracT's Concealing Fate, which should attest to how much I enjoy these guys musical capabilities. After finishing up a recent tour, they announced that they will be devoting their time to finishing the recording of their debut full-length album, with a targeted Mid-2011 release, and the simple demand that everyone should get appropriately stoked.
If you haven't yet, check them out, you can get an earful at their MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/volumes.
Label: Unsigned
Genre: Ambient / Experimental Metal
Release Date: TBD, 2011
Uneven Structure are a six piece outfit with members playing out of France and Sweden. Their debut eight track EP, simply entitled 8, was released in late December 2009, and serves as a great introductory set piece to another very talented group fusing Progressive Metal, djenty goodness and Ambient sounds into a delightful brain massaging experience.
The best part is 8 is available free to downloaded via the groups official website (http://www.unevenstructure.net/), and all eight tracks are also available for streaming on their MySpace page. You'll also notice they uploaded a short preview of their upcoming full-length album Februus, which is definitely worthy of a listen, and will surely convert a few new followers to their cause.
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: Progressive / Technical Death Metal / Groove Metal
Release Date: Early 2011 (speculated)
Previous Releases: Polars (2003); Drawing Circles (2006); Silhouettes (2008)
Arguably, this group could have easily fit into my future Prog Metal focused post, or any other number of them, but they also just as deservedly fit into this bracket.
Formed in 2001, Textures is a six piece metal band hailing from the Netherlands, with a long history of blending elements of progressive, technical death metal, groove metal and metalcore in their own unique, intricate and complex style. They have a long history of success as a group, showcasing strong performances on all three of their previous full-length releases.
In 2010, longtime frontman Eric Kalsbeek announced that he was leaving the band for personal reasons, wanting to focus on his personal work and family. Because of this, Textures were forced to delay the recording and release of their next album until early 2011. In March 2010, Daniel de Jongh was announced as his replacement.
I was looking forward to Textures fourth release, originally scheduled for last year, but with Eric's leaving the group it obviously added an unfortunate hiccup. I'm still hopeful that the group will be able to push forward with another solid release and look toward the future, so needless to say, Textures next release is still very much on my radar - hopefully sooner than later.
Part II of On the Radar: Here Comes the Djent will be up in the following days and will focus on four of my most anticipated Djent-tastic releases of 2011.
- J
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