Extol – Synergy (Century Media)
Metal. These guys are pretty obviously Christian (and are extremely preachy), and they started out playing a very black-metal influenced type of metal, but have now moved into more melodic, thrash-y, hardcore type stuff. So that makes them a mix between prog-metal and metalcore with definite black- and death-metal influences. Prog-core? Alterna-Black? Modern Metalcore? Wicked! Very cool stuff, spiraling and twisting and turning and going everywhere all at once, a lot of the compositions sound jazzy and extremely progressive. Growled vocals and some very effective clean vocal passages, odd guitar parts, numerous time changes, and a pretty tight rhythm section. Very talented group of guys, I like all the music a whole lot, but I can’t stand the preaching going on in the lyrics.
Tracks:
1) Very jazzy opening, but it works really well, not just some wank-fest. Clean, soulful vocals in the middle, nice.
2) Starts with vocals that sound like a child singing (nevermind, it’s a woman), and then becomes very hardcore. Sounds a lot like Opeth.
3) More energetic, driving intro, and then becomes really trippy with all the changeups between clean vocals and black vocals. I dig, especially the little breakdown/solo.
4) Really cool death growls layered over neat guitar parts, and then switches to more Opeth worship. Which is fine since Opeth rules.
5) Another proggy opening, and then more standard hardcore, with shouted gang vocals.
6) Another mood switcher, starts out hardcore/metalcore and then switches to some soulful, almost poppy singing over acoustic guitars, and it goes back and forth like that.
7) Black metal influences galore, and lots of time changes and staccato riffing, and then clean vocals, and the whole song works really well.
8) Thrash! Awesome, sounding like a mix between Kreator and Opeth, this is great, but they preach, on and on and on. Breakdown!
9) Slow, mellow, acoustic piece, very much on the minimalist side of things, sung with beautiful vocals, and it remains like that throughout, so it’s not a dreaded power ballad. Beautiful.
10) More thrash, and it ain’t bad at all. And then it changes to mellow acoustic driven piece with whispered vocals, and then more driving metalcore with clean vocals, this is really a great track.
11) Closer just decides to kick you really hard in the ‘nads. Actually, if it weren’t for the whole god thing, it’d be a pretty effective attack on consumer culture. Still, I dig, especially some of the black-metal vocals and the solo. Damn.
I love the music, I love how it always changes and is entirely unpredictable, excellent CD