 | Tracklist:
1. Treetops
2. Glass Faces
3. The Sound of Glaciers Moving
4. Aviation
5. Red Sky Harbor
6. Mute Swan
7. Blood Petals
| Ranking: #11 for 2011 | |
| | other reviews | Regen McCracken (5)
Corelia has crafted a masterful debut. It isn't every day that a release this near-perfect comes al... |
On 27 Lists
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| Summary: Painstakingly refined over the years, the work of Corelia finally sees fruition in the form of a fantastic EP. |
9 of 9 thought this review was well written
With more ways of getting your music out to the hungry ears of listeners than ever before, it has also become increasingly difficult for bands who shine for their music to be properly recognized. This rings especially true for bands who choose to play music in the progressive metal genre due to the over saturation of bands attempting their hand at “djent”. But quite frankly, it would be a damn shame for the boys in Corelia because they've risen above it all to produce an EP of stunning quality that shows they aren't just any other band.
Structurally, the music itself shows numerous influences from the unorthodox song structures of SikTh, to the Rody Walker-esque bag of vocal trickery Ryan Devlin employs with wondrous efficiency. Though his lower register growls are also reminiscent of Tommy Rogers (of Between the Buried and Me fame), he finds a comfortable medium between the two styles, always contributing a dreamy, air-like quality to the music. As with many vocalists who utilize soaring highs/guttural lows, they are definitely not for everyone. The legions of people who dislike Periphery for Spencer will have a field day here. For those uninitiated, Treetops is a great introduction to Ryan's vocal style and also happens to have a guest appearance by the aforementioned vocalist whose voice goes up like an angel and down like a wounded ox, Spencer Sotelo.
Guitarists Chris Dower and Ryan Borrell are certainly no slouches themselves either. Possessing the ability to seamlessly play off each other, they succeed in creating a wonderfully melodic atmosphere that shows itself best in Red Sky Harbor (my personal favorite off the EP). Don't take this as a knock to their technical ability though, these guys can certainly let loose when they want to, as evident by the solos throughout and especially the song Aviation. Fortunately they recognize that technicality is only a means to an end and the music works because of it.
Now this is all well and good on its own, but how about the rhythm section? Drummer Clayton Pratt is certainly talented behind the kit, delivering fast rolls and the occasional blast beat section when the situation calls for it with gusto. He is also a huge fan of generally using his bass pedals whenever possible. Thankfully instead of this meaning that his drum parts devolve into an exercise in fast double bass patterns, he uses them in a way that always accentuates the music well; contributing to the overall piece instead of trying to overpower the rest of the band. So what does this leave for the bassist, Adrian Alperstein to deliver? Though I'm not a bassist by any stretch of imagination, Adrian certainly holds his position up well and can be heard dropping a groovy line or two on tracks like The Sound of Glaciers Moving and the instrumental Mute Swan.
The biggest strength when you put them all together is that the music always remains interesting throughout. It's constantly busy, changing directions right before things would get repetitive but not so much as to overwhelm the listener or give them nothing to latch onto. The surprisingly tight production also helps a lot, giving every member a proper chance to show their stuff. Their time since releasing their first demo of Glass Faces back in April of last year was spent very well.
There has never been a time where I felt a band just clicked so effortlessly with me upon first listen quite like this. Through Nostalgia's regretfully short 31 minute run time, I was engrossed by Corelia's skillful blend of their influences to create something so well done, slightly unoriginal though it may be. Naysayers of this style will find little to like here but otherwise, there is absolutely no reason not to pick this up. Painstakingly refined over the years, the work of Corelia finally sees fruition in the form of a fantastic EP.
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Album Rating: 4.5
Tried my best with this one, someone had to do it. This EP is too good to go unnoticed. But as always, criticism is more than welcome so blast away!
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
That's something I'll definitely keep in mind cheers man.
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When describing the musicians you use the word "slouch" a few times, use it once and replace the other times with other adjectives =)
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review was pos'd. I will give this a try.
Digging: I The Breather - Truth and Purpose
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Pos'd. Love what I've heard from this band (especially Devlin)
Digging: Trioscapes - Separate Realities Digging: Trioscapes - Separate Realities | | |
this ep is ridiculously awsome.
does anybody else think the singer sounds like sonny moore?
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not too bad.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I cannot stop listening to this phenomenal fucking album! Way better than the overrated Periphery imo.
Digging: Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I Digging: Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I | | | Album Rating: 4
''Way better than the overrated Periphery imo''
Yes it is
Digging: Every Time I Die - Ex Lives Digging: Every Time I Die - Ex Lives | | | Album Rating: 3.5
Oh yes OH YES THIS IS GOOD
Digging: Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards The Daylight Digging: Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards The Daylight | | | Album Rating: 4.5
I'm glad to see people have taken a liking to it! This is like a combination of the whole progressive metal phase that's going on right now without the shitty parts of it.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I think their whole sound might be something you'd have to get used to though. It was like that for me even though I'm a big fan of Periphery, Sikth, PTH, etc.
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this vocalist shits on spencer so hard
Digging: Plebeian Grandstand - How Hate is Hard to Define Digging: Plebeian Grandstand - How Hate is Hard to Define
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
They're both great
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Awesome
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
a fantastic EP
Digging: Trioscapes - Separate Realities Digging: Trioscapes - Separate Realities | | | Album Rating: 4
checking this out
Digging: Janus - Nox Aeris | | | Album Rating: 4.5
Going to listen fully tomorow, listening to one song and it sounds amazing
Digging: Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I Digging: Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I | | | Album Rating: 4.5
Better than Protest the Hero. My favorite ep of the year !
| | | Album Rating: 4
Saw Ryan (the vocalist) fill in vocals for The Human Abstract on their tour with Periphery. He was fantastic live. He was better live than Spencer was, however, Periphery is not that overrated in my opinion. They played everything flawlessly in concert and ended the concert with Racecar. It was quite awesome.
Anyways, I found out about this EP because of that concert, and I'm super into this EP. I love it. I think it's awesome. It has a jazz influence that is a little different in the progressive-djent metal genre. I'm stoked to see where these guys go and put out next.
Digging: Poison the Well - The Tropic Rot | | | |
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