Review Summary: Painstakingly refined over the years, the work of Corelia finally sees fruition in the form of a fantastic EP.
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.
