The Contortionist – Language

September 16, 2014 • Good Fight Music

Yes, The Contortionist is back! Even though these guys have been one of my favorite obscure prog-deathcore bands ever (I've reviewed both of their older albums here and here), to be honest I didn't have high hopes for this album. Usually bands like this fizzle out pretty quickly unless they totally reinvent themselves.

Well, this band didn't totally reinvent itself, though there are a few changes to go over. As to what's the same, we have the post-rock-tinged progressive metal, with complex chugging djent riffs integrated seamlessly into soaring, epic songs. They still do those metal grooving patterns better than most; while I'm usually not a fan of totally amelodic, pseudo-random guitar lines, they have always had just enough structure to lock into a really great rhythm.

Of what's new, most notable is the vocalist, who tends to focus more on clean singing. Though there are still harsh vocals present, they're more of a raspy hoarse shouting type than the intense death growls of before. While the new vocalist fits the softer sound better, and he does a fine job, I do miss the sheer ferocity and energy of the old guy. But I don't think I'd want them to go back just for him.

Additionally, the band has now fully let go of the deathcore sound that made Exoplanet so great but had mostly eroded away by Intrinsic. I still am a bit disappointed by that as I thought they did it really well and it was something really unique about them. So to the uninitiated, Language will probably feel like a pretty generic prog metal album—and I guess that's not totally wrong anymore.

The album does have some major problems with structuring, though. It takes a while to get the album geared up—the first two tracks are kind of wimpy compared to when "Language II: Conspire" launches into the band's signature math metal fury. The album goes on a roller coaster from grooving, jazzy polyrhythms to passive common-time noodling and can't seem to ever make up its mind what it wants to do. When I gave this album a solid focused listen, it mostly turned into a game of wait-for-the-heavy-parts. But maybe I'm just impatient.

Language is a good album, and The Contortionist is still a good band, but I think they're either heading in the wrong direction or they simply need more time to refine what they are doing. This album is still worth picking up and checking out, but it's not their masterpiece and it's no Apparition. Maybe next time.