Sianvar
Sianvar EP
Sianvar’s
five-song eponymously titled EP features some of the more innovative
progressive metal I’ve heard in a while.
Suffused with time-changes, texture out the wazoo, and more mood-swings
than a sorority at the end of the birth control cycle, Sianvar capably manages
to make what has all the elements of a train wreck into a fine collection of
tight tracks.
As “Chest Pressure”
opens, the tone of the collection is both set and defied. It takes nearly a full minute for the heavy metal
elements of Sianvar to emerge. Feeling
both derivative and innovative, Sianvar brings serious chops and creative
genius to bear and by the end of “Chest Pressure,” well… if you don’t love this
band, you don’t love guitar virtuoso heavy metal.
Following up that
massive introduction, “Sick Machine” has all the elements of a nu metal tour de
force except the keyboards and rap. This
is solid guitar, bass and drums metal and Sianvar carries it off very well.
The guitar riffage
opening “Your Tongue Ties” sets the stage perfectly for Donovan Melero’s vocals
to unify the whole. Without the lyrics
(which don’t really matter) the whole edifice would crash in a mélange of musicians
going all jazzically off into their own directions. Those musicians bring the ass-kicking skill
set that we associate with the best sort of prog metal, and at times their
virtuosity threatens to overwhelm the project.
Fortunately, Joe Arrington on drums helps guitarists Will Swan and
Sergio Medina and bassist Michael Franzino stay on track to gift us songs like
the epic “Your Tongue Ties.”
Bringing the tempo
back under control, “Virtual Vain” starts off with some nice slow bits in which
Melero gets to carry the band on his voice before the others just flat out
assert their talents with traded solos and sonic collisions. “Virtual Vain” alternates between these
extremes, from the contemplative singing over classical guitar styling to the
head-banging audio mash-up of everyone bringing their A-game at once.
“Substance
Sequence” fittingly closes out the set as diversely and skillfully as the rest
of the EP, keeping the tone solid, talented and progressive and unfailingly
awesome. Every song sounds the same, yet
owns its own space and doesn’t sound the same.
It’s a tone thing more than a sound thing.
If your idea of
heavy metal is simply speed, volume and vocals that sound like a vomiting
tiger, Sianvar isn’t for you. If your
appreciation of metal has enough room for Rush, Primus, Faith No More, early
Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Felix Martin, you are going to LOVE this EP and wish
it were an LP.
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