Iris Divine are a trio who hail from Northern Virginia. This might surprise many of you who listen to them because there is so much going on at times, it is a wonder how just three men could perform what they do. Playing progressive metal with influences drawn from across the board, it’s easy to think Rush-lite given the fact they’re a prog metal trio, which isn’t a bad thing, but there is a whole lot more to this band and this release. Let’s reap what the band have sown.
“The Everlasting Sea” opens up the album and the first thing of note is the big sound from the band. The intro hits hard with a slightly hypnotic feeling riff before it hits the verse. Chunky sounding rhythm, deep bass, precise drums with a slight polyrhythmic effect and clean vocals all work well in combination, but it’s when the chorus hits it all comes alive. It has that big melodic hook to it which really draws the attention to it and the backing synths add that little bit extra to it. The break brings in some moody vocals and a rich bass tone and some interesting harmonics, all which combine to make for some great build up to a melodic and simple solo which works despite the big build up and the final solo and outro is a repeat of the chorus but heavier and with more of a groove. “Fire of the Unknown” has a real stomping groove to begin with before giving way to a dissonant sounding fill. It’s got a bass line which really stands out and the vocals are slightly more sneered than the previous track, give it more of an edge but it’s all about the pre-chorus and chorus again. The pre-chorus has that real sense of build up especially with the bass line and the chorus has a real punch to it which helps it stand out compared to the rest of the song. Round the 3:25 mark, there is the first real break in the song. Switching between rapid and technical flurries of notes and drumming and heavy grooves with harsher vocals, it keeps the pace up and when the solo kicks in, it works great. It’s not flashy in terms of composition, but its effective and it paves way for the outro chorus which has that big feel to it.
“A Suicide Aware” starts off slow with a mix of samples and clean ringing notes over a fantastic bass line. It steadily builds up with a hard hitting rhythm which keeps the moody feel of the song and the moodiness is prolonged by the steady paced verse which has a punctuated feel to it with the heavily muted chugging rhythm. The pre-chorus is only short, but it helps pave the way for the melodic chorus which has that hook to it and the backing synths just help give it that more complete feel. Round the 3:20 mark we get an extended instrumental section which has a real Dream Theater feel to it with the shifting riffs and fills which goes on for roughly a minute before some really expressive vocal work comes in building up for the big ending. “Mother’s Prayer” plays more in the vein of Symphony X. It hits hard from the off and it has a more metal friendly edge to the song with a really powerful chorus section. The second verse has a really great bass line and the vocals in it are great and the spoken section which follows the second chorus builds some anticipation but instead of it exploding to life, the song suddenly switches to a clean middle-eastern feel section which slowly and steadily builds in volume and distortion before a fantastic technical guitar solo rips through the track to set up the final chorus for the end of the song.
“Prisms” has a big feel in its intro. The shifting feel of the time signatures helps build it up and the heavy bass and drums with the urgent feel of the harsh guitars help set up a powerful groove. In the verse its predominantly bass focused with some softy delivered vocals whilst the post-verse has a very melodic hook to it whilst the pre-chorus builds up well. The chorus again has that melodic hook and punch to it, making it stand out and the ‘prog break’ round 2:40 brings back that Dream Theater feel with its stop-start rhythm, frantic riffs and fills and hectic sounds. The follow up chorus has some great drum work to it and the lead section is extremely complicated and very Petrucci-esque. “In Spirals” is an instrumental track which keeps the Dream Theater styled sound to it with samples, fast paced riffing and simple melodic leads which increase in complexity before the lead guitar takes the spotlight with another great solo. The clean section has some great guitar/keys interplay and the bass solo and bass-driven melody section which follows later on is just as precise and great as the lead guitar.
“Apathy Rains” has a slow paced haunting intro which slowly builds up. This in turn paves way to some softly delivered vocals over some heavy effects laden guitar lines in the verse which stays at this slow pace. The verse then swells into a massive sounding chorus out of nowhere, really sparking it to life and from there it gets more dynamic. The second verse is a short instrumental section with some Tool-esque drumming which suddenly cuts out with a whisper before going even more intense for the second chorus with some real powerful vocals and a very complicated, almost solo-sounding bassline. The song keeps the intensity with a hard hitting groove section and another powerful vocal section which gradually winds down as the song ends. A really spectacular track. “In the Wake of Martyrs” closes the album and it can be best described as a culmination of the album’s musical direction, like everything has built towards this track. It’s got everything – the suspense building droning guitar intro with heavy bass which slips into a powerful groove. Epic sounding synths and tight drums give off a great feel and the vocal dynamics, going from a slight whisper to hoarse help build for a fantastic chorus. The song has a ‘false finish’ about two thirds in which allows it to explode to life once again with more of a kick which helps set up the epic ending which has a huge groove and plenty of tricky fills in it.
On the whole, “Karma Sown” is fantastic. Nothing else to say about it really. The progressive trio show their influences well, but retain that individual sound which in the progressive metal genre, is hard to pull off. It’s complex where it needs to be but relatively simple and straight forward for the most part. Dynamic, powerful and melodic, it’s definitely worth checking out.
(9/10 Fraggle)
07/04/2015 at 8:45 am
9/10 Peter? Hmm, I’ll have to check them out.