Author: Primož Novak
Artist: Intervals
Label: Self-released
Release: year_month
Length: 49:33
Rating: 4/5
Intervals, who had put out two instrumental EPs before this album, could easily have gotten lost in the progressive scene, where instrumental bands are a dime a dozen. The standouts here are mainly Animals As Leaders and Scale The Summit, and after them comes a whole heap of fairly samey acts. Cloudkicker might be the only other exception. But last year Intervals made probably the defining move of their career when vocalist Mike Semesky joined, having previously proven himself in The Haarp Machine. Semesky originally played bass, but once he started experimenting with vocal lines, the band simply decided he’d handle vocals only.
The vocals didn’t really change Intervals’ style itself. If anything, the music gained one more dimension. After repeated spins of A Voice Within, quite a few associations with today’s prog bands pop up. On one hand, the sheer melodicity recalls the likes of Between The Buried And Me, Cynic, The Safety Fire and Protest The Hero, the latter more because of a few standout tapping riffs. On the other hand, the comparisons can’t skip djent bands like Tesseract, Periphery and so on. Intervals have slyly packaged their style and come up with something pretty unique, which is quite refreshing given the state of the scene these days. At the same time, you can hear the band takes a different approach from American and British bands. Canadian bands have always stood out with their own unique technical approach. Just look at their death metal acts and the picture is more than clear. And Rush, of course!
On A Voice Within, Intervals sensibly combine djent-style rhythms with strong guitar melodicity, and they also serve up simple riffs that lean almost punk rock. The arrangements are sensibly put together, nothing feels thrown in, and there are plenty of interesting passages and original rhythm switches. Anup Sastry’s excellent drumming helps a lot here too. Besides the complexity, there are groovy parts you could actually move to at a gig. Every now and then they dip into another style, too. Moment Merauder has a jazzy section with piano. In a few songs they reach for a mellow post-rock vibe, like the outro of Atlas Hour, which gives the band a fantastic effect when it comes to atmosphere. That brings in a calming element. The instrumental track Breathe is another good example. The only gripe is that the bass lines aren’t really prominent, because if the band went for bass in the Tesseract sense, the album would get something extra and interesting.
Semesky’s vocals might bother quite a few people. It’s clean singing only, and given the aggressive parts, a listener might expect some growling. The tone itself is also too soft and comes across as saccharine. But Semesky is far from a bad vocalist. He clearly has a talent for crafting vocal lines, which at times recall some metalcore singers, but how his voice is fitted into the complex music is downright incredible. Especially when it comes to vocals over syncopated riffs.
With A Voice Within, Intervals are proof that not every idea has been used up. You just have to combine them in an original way and success is guaranteed. Intervals more than pulled it off: there’s nothing generic here, just the kind of dynamics that should be a model for every djent band, or, more broadly, for today’s so-called prog crowd. Bottom line: Intervals have huge potential.
Lineup
Mike Semesky — vocalsAaron Marshall — guitar, bassLukas Guyader — guitar, backing vocals on “Ephemeral”, “Moment Marauder”, and “Automaton”
Anup Sastry — drums
Production
Intervals, Cameron McLellan & Jordan Valeriote
Track list
- Ephemeral
- Moment Marauder
- Automaton
- The Self Surrendered
- Breathe
- The Escape
- Atlas Hour
- Siren Sound
- A Voice Within
