'Aathma', the fifth full-length album from this Andorran band, served as a baptism to their music for me. Have the band always been this complicated and technical, I wonder.

Mathematics. Damn this is filled with tempo changes, non-straight tempos and broken beats. I cannot keep up with this, even though I must say there are some very cool transtions included. I mean, there must be a considerable amount of different beats. They vary from calm playing to extreme metal styles. I find loads of guitar, vocal and synthersizer melodies, which do not seem to stick to my brain. There's shredding guitar work as well as fast fretboard runs, but also very clear, airy playing. The solos are labyrinthine, epic and nothing too contagious. The bass guitar is at times following the guitars and the drums, but often wanders its own path. To tell the truth, I think that sometimes there are more than one path the band is proceeding. The synthesizer work is varying; there's anything from bleeps to mat-synths, and piano playing to classical music elements.

The album is 63 minutes long, including 13 tracks, which range from 1½ minute to almost 10 minutes. It feels very, very laborious, even though there are a few calm interludes between all chaos (not surprisingly, them shorter tracks). The album might get a bit clearer towards the end, but I'm still not sure, even though I've listened it all way through for multiple times. One thing is clear: There is no idea to listen to it during your mind is on something else!

The first familiar element for me, soon after the album starts, is Dream Theater's influence. This is similarly technical and also music-wise these two bands are reminiscent. In most technical way, but also during more jamming, or should I say groovy, moments. The spirit of Pink Floyd can be sensed during some of more airy moments. But as it is 2017, the band went for djent (one of them newer genres that stagnated very fast after its birth). Death metal trait of the band has gotten very small and is heard only for some brief moments (if not counting the growl vocals). Cynic's Paul Masvidal guests on annoying vocoder vocals and throws a guitar solo, too. While the music is eccentric, there are good bits, surely. It's only all around, fragmented. However, at best it can be highly inviting.

If you want it technical, the instrumentalists here deliver. Something about the vocals, then. The growling is death metal style, and able in that; powerful and fits in well. It's not very varying, though. The clean vocals are not metal at all, but simply clean male vocals; not high or low pitched. There's much more of growl, thankfully. The lyrics are spiritual. "Aathma" is the world soul or the universal mind. Something like all souls are one.

The production work is surprisingly clear, when thinking of how much there has been crammed in. The guitars have most volume, and the synthesizer is mostly kept in back. It does not sound too polished, albeit it certainly is pedantic workmanship. I thought the artwork looked like Travis Smith's, and that's who made it. The booklet's inner page graphics look remarkably bland, though.

It is kind of peculiar that this album with its highly spiritual lyrics feels like it's missing some serious soulfulness. Or then it's well hidden. As for music, this is way too crammed and it is jumpy. Well, at least the term "progressive" is in full use..! Let's see if this album will ever open for me...

Rating: 6- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
12/08/2017 20:09