Well Ave Noctum were invited to review this by some weird toad worshipping cult. So, for some reason I ended up with it. Ribbit. Go figure. So, a two track twenty odd minute bit of toad worship huh? No, I had no idea what to expect.
Track 1, ‘Part I: Father’ is a little surprise because I really wasn’t expecting prog death in the form of mid period Opeth. With added saxophone adding a jazzy Van Der Graaf Generator vibe. But it really does hit that spot square on; melodic and with heavy drumming providing some real depth as the guitar and bass and sax just do their proggy dance up and down my eardrums. Growled and gargled vocals fill it out through the tempo changes.
Throughout the EP there are some lovely guitar noodle periods, twisted around by the sax and the odd bit of space noise electronica. They even get some neat hooks in there too.
‘Part II: The Son’ begins more quietly before going back to wade in the prog death swamp. I guess in some ways it seems a little frenetic; some might say full of energy, others will find it begins to get a little exhausting. Me? I’m kind of in the middle I think. I can certainly see what they are aiming for and the complex musical themes they take up and twist are very well done. On the other hand the musical journey seems a little vague and unfocussed at times, dwelling more in the dexterity than the composition. Certainly, an interesting debut though more one for the prog heads out there.
(6.5/10 Gizmo)
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