REVIEWED: Extract the Abstract - Echoes' EP
Stream the EP for free on Bandcamp
Extract the Abstract's debut EP
'Echoes' is an evil combination of hardcore and modern metal,
starting off full bore with “Put a Funeral in the Budget.” Deep
guttural growls break for a split second in harmonic vocals, but as
the title suggest there's more than just metal chugging, with clean
backing vocals giving a nice contrast to the screams and growls.
The guitar work is a standout
highlight, with soaring speedy solos that help give pitchless vocals
a melodic element. The standout element through the EP isn't any
individual instrument, though they all hold their own, but the
arrangements, which differentiate the band from the thousands of
other young, angry metal bands trying to make it, both in the
established Halifax metal scene and beyond. Everything you'd expect
to hear on a modern metal record is here, and the songs move smoothly
between genres and archetypes without seeming stale or cliché.
The closing number “The Echo Song”
demonstrates the band's grasp on catchy rhythmic ideas as key to
interesting song writing; deep growling bass echos early System of a
Down while dotting guitars could come just as easily from modern math
rock bands like Battles. Some of the transitions between clean
backing vocals and main vocals are a little abrupt, but overall the
band is tight and are clearly not holding back on ideas. It's a
benefit and a downside as the end of the song stretches into 'how
many riffs can we fit in one song' territory, and there are a few odd
mix choices with panning guitars and vocal volumes, but for the most
part it succeeds and is a refreshing change from endless powerchord
and doublebass bands.
- Dan Nightingale 2012
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