Aliases, a tech-metal five piece with balls in abundance, have released an 8 track mini album of head-scrambling insanity entitled 'Safer Than Reality' through pioneering metal label, Basick Records. The band are made up of ex SikTh guitarist Graham 'Pin' Pinney, ex Veils members Darren Pugh and Joe Heaton (drums and bass respectively), guitarist Leah Woodward and Paris-based vocalist Jay Berast, and already they are making waves despite having formed just a year ago. After recently completing a tour with Visions, another Basick Records band, this release hits the shelves and download market with a complex and exciting intensity which shows that Aliases, although a band that no doubt conform to the hardcore sound of their label-mates, can stand their own as a fresh-sounding metal band. The music on this album is honest, animal and awe-inspiring.
'Safer Than Reality' opens with 'What's Left For Us?’, the lead single from the release and for good reason. It's a tech-metal behemoth with swaying and swaggering time signatures. It has math-rock tendencies, but in places it's a real easy-listener, as the chorus is an impressive and layered harmony, which is an interesting change from the thundering juggernaut that is made up from the rest of the song. The guitars are sweeping and crazed and they leave a more lasting impression than the vocals, which tend to get lost at times. 'The Reality of Beliefs' is a groove-laden progressive track and it gives the screaming vocals a chance to shine whereas on the previous track it didn't. The mid-range melodies combine well with the harmonies, making you realise just what range Berast has. Aliases have a sound that is addictive, that is already clear just two tracks in. The guitars are in overload, but it never feels too much.
Spasming drums bring in 'We Never Should Have Met', which is a brutal twisting song. The complex instrumentals weave beneath the vocals as it drives ahead, juddering and changing course but not once stalling. Next up is a guitar instrumental interlude entitled 'Refraction', which although enjoyable feels a little out of place. It's a shelter from the storm, but I don't really want it. The wall of sound returns with 'All That Glitters Is Gold', which is a masterful and technical beast. The mind-melting rhythms come in abundance but there is also a streak of beautiful majesty in some of the sections. These awesome contrasts show the energy and emotions that Aliases have put into these songs. 'While I Drown' is one of the heaviest sounding songs on the mini-album, mainly because some of that technical edge is stripped away, leaving a punchy drone below the howls. Another interlude arrives with 'The Beginning Has No End', a soulful piano piece, but I feel the same about it. It's great, but feels out of place. If this was a full length release I could understand the need for interludes, but here they feel like they aren't needed to break up just 6 full length tracks. Album closer 'Sirens' is a song that flexes its muscles as well as its melodies, both of these aspects interweaving seamlessly. It's a good examples of what Aliases are about if any one song from 'Safer Than Reality' is to be recommended, ending this release on a high.
No comments:
Post a Comment