September 25, 2009 • self-released
They said deathcore was a genre that couldn't be saved. Every album in that style ever released was just a rehash of the same old chuggy breakdown clichés and it all sucked and nobody cared anymore. Emmure, Suicide Silence, it didn't matter, it was all the same crap. For a while I was one of those people.
Well, they must not have heard The Contortionist. Because this release totally turned everything around for me.
Sure, the typical deathcore elements are there—throaty and not-noticably-good vocals, detuned guitars playing muted and rhythmic riffing, breakdowns galore... but there's something about Apparition that makes it stand out. There's a certain atmospheric quality to it that saves it driven by exploration with other genres. The EP has a definite progressive influence, with a lot of melodic lines and some complicated guitarwork to complement the heavy breakdown riffs. "Eyes: Closed" has a melancholy, almost post-rockish bridge, in between some heavy but still emotional melodic lines. The band winds up throwing a lot at the listener, changing it up pretty frequently: a crushing, slow segment here, a quick break to clean, jazzy guitar, then a complicated polyrhythmic riff. It's the kind of erratic mishmash of style that I normally don't care for, but here everything comes together excellently in a way that keeps the listener on their toes.
Even though there are still a lot of typical breakdowns, the music comes off a lot more intelligent and interesting than your typical Emmure ripoff band, which is why I keep coming back to this EP for more. The juxtaposition of ugly chugging with beautfil, soaring melodies works brilliantly and the contrasts between styles just makes the heavy bits heavier and the proggy parts proggier. My only complaint might be, again, the vocals; they sound a bit off and don't always go with the music terribly well.
So if you can stomach a bit of djent in your metal this is definitely a release to take a listen to. And I still have no clue why I haven't yet checked out their full-length Exoplanet (2010).
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