Review Summary: Prog. Pog.
Sleeper Ship is named after a type of spaceship which has its crew in hibernation. The sci-fi theme lightly douses the music itself, with carefully placed synthesizers going a long way. As does the expansive, melodic soundscape which brings to mind Devin Townsend and Pagan’s Mind. The spacey melodies float along, and the fairly boisterous singer leaves his mark. Perhaps the band’s title is fitting after all. Even more interesting is that this is the solo project of Andrew Kingsley from Unleash The Archers; Andrew is quite multi-talented, doing the production, programming, and guitars.
Right out the gate it’s evident that Sleeper Ship aren’t playing. The first track is heavy like a seismic earthquake, and both the riffs and drums are at hyperspeed; when I first heard the track I mistakingly expected a power metal band. The speed doesn’t factor in much after the first track, but the heavy spaciness persists. The type of progressive metal that Sleeper Ship offer is especially similar to Borealis, another band with a mind for arena filling choruses. Sleeper Ship, however, are less focused on catchiness, and more about calming hypnotism. Long, drawn out melodies are the norm, which diminishes the band’s heavy motif.
Sleeper Ship strike me as a band just progressive enough to keep the tag, but not memorable enough to make a big splash in the vast lake of progressive metal. They play the instruments well, often preferring to fill space with overtly repeated melodies and vocal hooks. The melodies are a big, fluffy cushion that eases you in, and it might make you forget your outside worries, but deep down you know you’ve been cushion trapped. It’s comfortable music, something you don’t want to leave, but it also lacks zest.
Occasional blastbeats aside, this is an entirely predictable EP. Indeed, The Gateway seems more generic than it needed to be, however, it’s no immediate cause for concern. For a debut EP it sounds quite professional, and despite drawn out songs the songs are very engaging. I did not grow weary of these tracks despite the lengthier tracks which is more than I can say about a lot of bands. This solo project is justified, and I’m sure it’ll improve from here.
