Review Summary: Comity takes a wide range of influences, and molds them together to create one of the best metalcore albums ever.
Comity is a Metalcore/Post metal band from France. The first thing you will notice upon listening to this album is the extreme proficiency of each instrumentalist. My first full listen through this beast left me speechless. One minute they will play a neck breaking riff that is similar to something bands like Knut or Converge play, then they will transition to a slower sludgy Neurosis influenced section.
As Everything opens with Part 1. The album is supposedly split into 99 miniature songs, but when downloaded from their bandcamp, it is combined into 4 parts. This makes much more sense upon digging deeper into the album. Right off the bat, Comity hits you with full force, opening with a mid paced heavily distorted guitar riff, but it doesn’t last for long. Right after that it transitions to a much faster riff, and is very reminiscent of early Dillinger Escape Plan. The song continues on like this for some time, constantly switching between neck breaking speed, and mid tempo riffs meant to crush anything in their path. The real high point of the song happens just after the 4 minute mark. They take a break from the chaos and focus on a more melodic interlude, in the vein of Cult of Luna. Even though it doesn’t happen for very long, the transition doesn’t feel forced, and when the pace quickens once more, you are left reflecting on it.
When you reach part 2, the tempo slows down again. The song is much sludgier and as such, the atmosphere is much darker. This goes on for some time, and near the midsection, the tension starts to build up and you realize something big is coming. The bass is at max at this moment, and it makes the build up that much more intense for the listener. When it finally hits you, you are unprepared for the madness, and are forced to give in to the lightening fast melodies of the guitarist and the pummelling of drums. It doesn’t stop there though. The speed continues to increase until a transition near the end, that is a basically just a quick room to take a breath. The song then builds even further, adding more melody, with every instrument playing a key role, and the vocalist shouting a repeated line to conclude the song.
The production on this album is my favourite thing about it. Whereas Deus Ex’s production was a bit rawer, and a bit grittier, As Everything’s has been cleaned up and polished to near perfection. The bass is even quite audible in most parts, which is a nice change from most metalcore albums that tend to hide the bass in the mix. The drums come through nice and clean, with the kick sounding very thick, and the symbols crashing, as if you were right in the room with the drummer.
If there is one thing people might not enjoy as much, it would be the vocals. His vocals are very similar to the vocalist of Knut for the most part, but he also goes to a more deathcore kind of style occasionally. Though usually this is rare, one might find it grating to hear those somewhat generic vocals on first listen. It is also very difficult to understand anything he is screaming. Just remember that the vocals are not the key focus of the album, and it should make a bit more sense. Give it some time, and it will grow on you if you are interested in this type of music.
Whether they are playing a lightning fast riff, or slowing it down and focusing on their melodic side, Comity manages to keep everything fresh and interesting.
