Review Summary: Not quite there.
Ebonivory: a progressive metal band with slickly produced, chunky, djent/metalcore style guitar lines. They are fronted by a rather young-sounding singer who brings shades of pop-punk music. Ebonivory’s soundscape reminds me of Astronoid’s Bloom, another album with punk music seemingly influencing the melodic sheen; continuing the comparison, Ebonivory attempt to match their vocalist’s vibe, resulting in minor success, and often half-hearted melodies. The melodies can be decently pleasant, but poor songwriting prevents the melodies from shining. Their melodies drift in and out like air, and failed to make any substantial impact on me.
Ebonivory are content with giving jam session vibes, and regurgitating what other modern metal bands do. The main differences (although the differences are countless) between Ebonivory and bands like Voyager and Monuments can be summed in twofold: impact and fun. Songs here are sloppily put together, progressive for the sake of it. They seem to have forgotten that hooks and catchy songwriting can still exist while showing off. The Long Dream I is self-indulgent, with songs written to add another jaw-dropping riff, or to highlight the vocalist; their songs barely stand out from the crowd coupled with generic soundscapes, and the copying of so many other bands.
They throw it all against the wall: progressive elements, suddenly-explosive djent, and sappy, by-the-numbers music. The album sounds decently nice, but there is no unique voice. There is no reason why I would listen to this and not another band, because Ebonivory offer nothing special, and worse, they offer it while sounding amateurish. Their product is easily digestable with barely any substance to keep their audience engaged. They strike as artificial, just another band following the bandwagon, a copy of a copy. Ebonivory will have to try harder to make it into the big leagues.
