Review Summary: Tradjectory provide plenty of atmosphere and punch in equal measure in their first full length.
Tradjectory are a progressive metal band from the same underground scene which has spawned the likes of
Animus Sadist, the late
Bleeding Oath (and successors Novena), and
Karybdis, and has been slowly ascending to the top of the scene with their lively shows and tight musicianship. In summer 2012 they finally released their self-titled début album, and, although it doesn't quite live up to the group's live performances, they show clear signs of what they're capable of.
The tracks have a Periphery-esque djent influence quite present for all to see and mix their eclectic riffs with ambient passages (mainly provided by now ex-guitarist Tom Adams), and the heavier tracks like "Before The Storm" are definitely the highlights of the album. The slower tracks keep a nice flow but are rather long and can lose the listener's interest about half way through, if they're not put off by the clean vocals. The clean vocals, which along with the difficult to trace bass of Kitty Tullet, don't feel very well produced in relation to the rest of the music. They sound out of place in relation to the music, particularly compared to their live performances - one track which suffers from this in particular is opener "Oceans Of Revolution", perhaps one of the weaker tracks on the album and not an ideal start. If one is willing to look past this though, the band's talent and energy is clear to see and the album is instrumentally extremely tight and fun to listen to, and the screamed vocals are overall well executed by Justin Prentice, although in some tracks (such as in "Solus" and "Wounds") it can feel as if he has worn his voice out a little. Fergus Gardner (now part of ExistImmortal) is a madman on drums and Nathan McCarthy and Tom Adams combine well on guitars, with some impressive solos present in tracks like "Before The Storm" and "Rewired".
The ambient instrumental interludes (my personal favourite being "I|O Process") are nice breaks in between songs and build up to the explosive starts of proceeding tracks (e.g. "Reformation" into "Rewired") and show that there is more than one dimension to Tradjectory's sound. The pace changes provided by these interludes keep the listeners on their toes and make it an interesting listen, especially if they drift off in some of the longer tracks which can at times get a little repetitive. With that said there are a lot of these interludes which could make one think that they were put in purely to make up the numbers and provide filler - not bad filler, but the fact that there are 4 of these tracks on the album (that's 1/3 of the tracks) can make one suspicious.
As stated earlier, this album does suffer in some areas of production, where the clean vocals and bass particularly suffering in some tracks (not all however - the cleans are used very well in "Into the Darkness"). As an unsigned band releasing their first full length, though, the production job is still respectable and, given time, I'm sure this problem will be addressed in future releases. Overall, Tradjectory has put out a very enjoyable first album which shows that they're capable of great things in the future.
Stronger tracks: Before The Storm, Rewired, I|O Process, Into the Darkness, Wounds
Weaker tracks: Oceans of Revolution, Solus
