Textures
Drawing Circles

The name Textures takes us back in time, to 1993, when under the Roadrunner label the Cynic released "Focus", a true masterpiece of experimentation based on death metal, and the seventh and second-to-last track was precisely called "Textures".

And this is not the only common point between the two groups: these six Dutchmen also offer a death metal tainted with various other genres. In particular, we find frequent funk elements, progressive-like rhythm changes, and electronic effects in some tracks. Another similarity is represented by the tendency of both to insert calm and atmospheric passages in several songs. The differences from the older band, of course, are there, such as the absence of jazz in this "Drawing Circles", the second effort by the Dutch band, alongside the presence of filtered vocals in "Focus". From what I have just written, it should be clear that this is a very varied and interesting album, in which different techniques are adopted, and each track holds many souls.

Already Drive, which opens this "celestial voyage" (again the Cynic...), with an intro that is almost half the track, then does not maintain the same rhythm for more than 30 seconds, and unleashing devastating aggression, perfectly paints the manifesto of the group, but to understand what the album will be like we need to move forward... Let's do it: Regenesis starts with a rapid alternation of growl and screaming (very risky for the throat...meaning that you need to know how to do it well, and it surely is the case), and then takes on an unsustainable rhythm for a long time; when this track calms down you hear the first "clean" singing of the album. Denying Gravity starts off quickly, then slows down for a long time: here too the calm passage is appreciable, giving it what many pieces of this genre lack, completing it in every sense, also because, present twice, it leads us, the second time (with more "variants"), towards the sweet conclusion. A slow fading of aggression that prepares us for Illumination, which takes us for less than two minutes into a completely different genre, that is, ambient or lounge, thus electronic, with beautiful singing. But Stream of Consciousness puts us back on the previous track, worse even: it is indeed the hardest piece of the album, which musically, besides its title, recalls, in some passages, the Dream Theater, with the difference of vocal technique; atmospheric passage present here too, yes, but really short, like several others characterized by infinite bpm, each of a few seconds. All this fades again at the end, to prepare us for another calm track, Upwards, devoid of growl or screaming, with only brief singing; the track, really pleasant to listen to fully, continuously changes reason and finally assumes a completely different color, reprising the riffs that have characterized almost all previous tracks, but without "exploding" too much.

Circular starts more traditionally (we are talking again of a track that is not at all calm), and remains traditional for about twenty seconds, after which it will become the track with the most frequent rhythm changes, as well as one where the singing reigns for the longest time; the conclusion again reminds of Dream Theater. Now comes the single, Millstone, which well represents what the album could be, but perhaps is not the best in this role; the intro is characteristic, simple and hard, vaguely recalling the Slipknot of "Iowa". The last two tracks can be considered together the conclusion. A feature that differentiates them from the rest of the album is the presence of solos. The first of these, Touching the Absolute, longer than eight minutes, certainly wants to be another aggressive song, but the solos soften it for a long time, even when they overlap with the riffs, and only when they disappear does the piece make us look back, although it happens for a short time: that calm atmosphere, present not much in the other tracks, here predominates for most of the time, and the same singing present in Upwards is reprised. The "real" conclusion, Surreal State of Enlightenment, could be the equivalent of "Textures" in the Cynic's album: an instrumental piece, not aggressive, where the solos play the part that normally the singing would, like in any song of Joe Satriani.

2006: let’s take stock. Last year was the scene of interesting record releases, definitely better than 2005 (and I can say the same personally). I think the album I just reviewed is the best of the year, in front of "With Oden on Our Side" by Amon Amarth and "In the Arms of Devastation" by Kataklysm.

The surprises? Celtic Frost first, who after some rather lukewarm albums, return to propose something very interesting like "Monotheist" (although Morbid Tales and To Mega Therion are unbeatable). Gaia’s Vestige: not protected by copyright, "Sekai No Ato" seems to me one of the ten best of the year (maybe it’s because there’s no label?). The Stone Sour: I would never have thought they would return, and with an album that is, all in all, not bad.

Disappointments. The Dillinger Escape Plan, capable of two stellar albums, who offer me yet another EP, and this time it’s a work of little depth (what’s a Justin Timberlake cover doing there?). Incubus, who now say goodbye to metal definitively, even though the new "Light Grenades" is not a bad work.

The expected (i.e., I was expecting it). Evanescence (and I say it with much satisfaction): too commercial, too selfish, and it's time to learn to play; "The Open Door" is, deliberately, too similar to "Fallen", since that is the way of profit. Rhapsody of Fire: yes, but only in style, and that's how it should be. Napalm Death: same story as Rhapsody. Sonata Arctica: nice live, but when is the new album coming? Circle II Circle: the last Burden of Truth still too much recalls the Savatage, even if it is not a flaw.

2007 already looks tasty, with three prominent names ready: Metallica, Machine Head, and Paradise Lost...

Conclusion: happy listening (if you are listening to Textures don’t get distracted), and happy new year everyone!