Review Summary: Although plagued by a few technical issues and an oversaturated scene, Intervals manage to infuse this instrumental release with enough emotion to appeal to any listener.
Before digging into the contents of this release, I first and foremost want to mention that it is usually a good sign that the band is pre-releasing their new music in form of a stream online, and lets people not only listen to the entire release – but also to download it for free as a digital download right off of their bandcamp. A few other artists are following suit, including Sithu Aye and Corelia, but I personally foresee this being the new medium of new releases in the future of the music industry. I am much more inclined to pay for music that I have heard and that has impacted me – more so than listening to a teaser or a track that may be the best track and a poor representation of the album content as a whole. So for that, thank you Intervals for continuing an excellent trend in the ever-shifting music industry.
There are two ways to describe this short but sweet release: djenty and technical. This is actually the biggest negative aspect of the album, but that will be discussed later in the review. Right off the bat, the listener is assaulted with heavy, syncopated, chuggy guitars. But the assault does not last very long as the music is then enveloped into the beautifully written melodies that ride atop this tumultuous backbone. This follows suit for the rest of the EP – heavy guitars chug and churn, cradled by the ethereal lead melodies. With the exception of Tapestry and Epiphany, the dynamics of the music follow the aforementioned form. This trend is exceptionally apparent on Momento, a track that you definitely have to take a deep breath after. The assault and intensity is complete throughout, with unbelievably technical guitar work.
As mentioned previously, the guitar work is one of the main reasons to listen to this release. You have to hear these riffs and solos in order to believe them. Typically, all-instrumental releases are plagued by the unnecessary wanking seen by the likes of Rusty Cooley or (in some instances) Animals As Leaders, and Memento is the only track that gets close to committing this crime. Since we’re on the topic of AAL the track Tapestry has quite a few moments that sound like something straight off of the self-titled LP, especially during the “groove-out-over-these-clean-chords” moments of the song.
All of the other instruments are also on the same level of excellence – the bass is mostly audible and often adds a nice depth to the music. The drums are quite good as well. A little plain in comparison to some of the other instrumental contemporaries, but they definitely hold their own.
There are two major drawbacks to this release. The first being is that although the music is well-written and solid on its own, it’s lacking a bit in the “originality” department. I know that that’s not a totally fair call when talking about an instrumental metal band, but to be fair over the last few years the progressive metal scene has seen a massive explosion of technical progressive metal bands that were all about “creating something different and unique”. Fortunately, Intervals is not incredibly unique to the point that they’re redefining the genre, but were gifted with the ability to infuse their music with a high degree of emotion. This is the true saving grace of this release, as the music isn’t so technical that it is hard to appreciate. It’s technical, but the melodic content, fused with the raw emotion of the songs, really makes for a very pleasant and (at times) jaw-dropping experience.
The second biggest drawback for the release is the average at best production value on the drums. The toms sound weak, and the snare doesn’t quite cut through the mix, sounding a little deadened. The kick is nicely mixed and recorded – which has a well-rounded thud to it – none of that triggered beyond belief nonsense. Outside of the poor production on the kit, the production value on the strings is well above average.
Overall, if you want to hear some beautiful leads and some insane guitar work – this is the release for you. At 22:23, it is a joy to replay this album, and it only gets better with each consequent listening. As mentioned earlier in the post – check out the bandcamp for a listen, or click on this link in order to check out their full stream on YouTube. While you’re at it, hit up their Facebook and click that Like button!
