Grade: 5 - No gymnastic feats, but feats nonetheless
Label: Good Fight Entertainment
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Site(s): http://www.myspace.com/thecontortionistband
High Points: Great blending of styles gives a unique vibe to each track.
Low Point: The fact that I missed this album in 2010.
My first contact with The Contortionist was when a friend of mine showed me their second EP, entitled Apparition, back in 2009. The seven track EP was quite the surprise and flooded my ear canals for quite some time.
Which is why I feel like a real turd burglar for having missed out on the fact that their debut album Exoplanet actually dropped this past August. Had I known this a couple weeks ago, it would have easily graced the top echelons of my Top 10 in 2010. So I figured the only way I could repent for this obvious sin was to throw up some sort of a Review of the album.
The Contortionist blend together core, death metal, progressive-jazz fusion and djenty goodness into something that when done incorrectly, you would expect to be an incoherent mishmash of discordance. The Contortionist however is yet another band that manages to blend each style together in ways that provide a unique sound experience from one track to the next. You'll find graceful melodies, technical fretwork, djentarific riffs, breakdowns and the kitchen sink.
While you'd expect non-stop face crushing destruction from how many of their tracks begin, you get treated to a wide range of transitions, from chuggy, meaty, bone crushing riffs, to melodic interludes with clean and pleasant vocals. The most important aspect of any group seeking to transition from one sound and style to the next is being able to do it seamlessly, a trait that The Contortionist clearly has down.
People familiar with The Contortionist prior to Exoplanet will recognize some familiarities and the return of the track Oscillator from the Apparition EP.
Stand-out tracks for me include the two opening tracks, Primal Directive and Flourish as well as track five, Advent. But I'm still acclimating myself to the overall awesomeness of the album to be able to say that any of the tracks truly destroy another - I'd rather just say the album destroys shit on it's own.
Regardless I did come across a fine nugget of good news, in that The Contortionist will be playing in Ottawa in February - which I also only found out about, right now.
You can check out The Contortionist on their myspace, as linked above. Or better yet you can catch them on tour in a foxhole near you.
The Contortionist will be sharing the stage with Within the Ruins, Suffokate and Last Chance to Reason on February 17th at the Alexander CC in Ottawa.
And of course, a small parting gift, in the form of some Primal Directive:
- J
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