Review Summary: One certainty can be held onto - that with their debut EP, Emerged have created a damn fine slice of non-denominational instrumental metal.
Vocals have, typically, been seen as an important, if not crucial, part of music. While some styles have traditionally made do without them (classical and free jazz come to mind), most other genres have relied on them as, at best, a means to convey their message and, at worst, the main source of their identity. This is especially true for modern genres, in which musical tropes tend to repeat themselves, and the vocals oftentimes become the only way to tell one band or artist apart from the next.
And yet, even in modern music, there are those who have made a conscious choice to eschew any vocal input when bringing their musical ideas to life. Be it virtuosos like guitar god Joe Satriani or atmosphere-driven post-rock ensembles such as Godspeed! You Black Emperor, the odd artist
does exist out there that has managed to build an entire, respectable career without ever needing words.
Latest to follow this trend are Emerged, a Dutch four-piece dealing in a markedly non-denominational strand of instrumental metal. 2014's
Letting Go of Certainties is their only recorded document (thus far), and as a debut EP, certainly does hint at a bright future for these Rotterdam natives
Not quite atmospheric enough to be labelled 'post', and not quite tecchy or shreddy enough to be labelled 'prog', Emerge settle for an eminently listenable middle-ground across the five tracks and 29 minutes of their debut. This already promising mix is then seasoned to perfection with a sprinkling of allspice powder – which is to say, with influences ranging from traditional metal (the opening riff on
Don't Speak is time-warped straight out of the 80s) to doomier landscapes, such as those found further on in the same song, or on equally strong follow-up
Get A Life. The result is an undeniably tasty musical concoction, likely to please fans of not only the group's two base genres, but also a range of ancillary styles within the rock and metal umbrella.
Indeed, should a listener be happy to forgo any and all vocals in the context of a rock record, they will find plenty to like in this EP. Emerged are not particularly show-offy (their riffs, licks and song structures are all fairly linear and straightforward) but they are certainly talented musicians in their own right; it is just that, unlike so many of their fellow prog virtuosos, they choose to use their talents to enhance their music, rather than the other way around. This subtle yet important distinction prevents the tracks on this EP from ever descending into substanceless wank-fests, instead ensuring they remain grounded, pleasant, and unlikely to bore even the most impatient of metalheads.
If any fault must be found in this roughly half-hour of music, however – and, this being a review, it must – it lies with the fact that, while pleasant and appealing while they last, Emerged's compositions are not particularly memorable. Unlike with, say, Barfighter, nothing the Dutch foursome creates across the five tracks of this EP sticks in the listener's mind straight away; however, a good few listens
do unveil the odd catchy lick or section, mitigating even this minor problem with the group's debut.
In the end, after a good few spins of this five-track EP, one certainty can be held onto - that with their debut, Emerged have created a damn fine slice of non-denominational instrumental metal. Shame, then that, in the six years since elapsed, nothing more has been heard from or about the group. Still, if this is to be their only legacy, these four lads can still rest assured that, however fleeting, theirs was a plenty worthy passage through the world of experimental rock music.
Recommended Tracks
Don't Speak
Get a Life
