Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Cordura
Label: Self-released
Release: year_month
Length: 42:00
Rating: 3.5/5
Velenje native Tim Draksler first made a real name for himself with his solo debut Morbid Desire, after a brief stint in the thrash outfits Decilence and Interceptor. But Draksler didn’t stay a one-man show for long. He soon gathered like-minded players around him and founded the progressive thrash band Cordura, who a year ago put out their ambitious studio debut Astral Projection.
It’s a logical continuation of what Draksler was doing on his solo debut: heavily technical thrash metal, here and there beefed up with death metal elements and a rich atmosphere. But the biggest difference lies elsewhere. Astral Projection isn’t just a sonic upgrade on Morbid Desire. The arrangements are what’s been pushed up a level, and this time they’re far more elaborate, controlled and thought through. If Morbid Desire was mostly plagued by a lack of self-control, with Draksler’s ideas flying off like the Big Bang in far too many different directions, the story on Astral Projection is much more coherent. Don’t get me wrong, this is still progressive thrash metal drawing on the legacy of bands like Forbidden, Watchtower, Anacrusis and Toxik. So expect unhinged riffs, complex jazzy structures, tons of tempo and rhythm changes, and virtuoso guitar solos. The solos in particular are outstanding from Draksler’s fingers, because they’re not thrown together off the cuff but carefully thought out and spiced up with all sorts of approaches.
The guys don’t run out of ideas elsewhere either. The guitar and bass lines weave around each other brilliantly the whole way through, and just how complex the bass lines are, just like the guitars, shows nicely in the bass excursion in Binding of Immorality. The varied riffs are great too, but in many places they don’t fully come through because of the weak production (the clever staccato chugging in Purging Impurity sounds like a computer being plugged in), and the drums, though busy and bruising, sound a bit awkward as well. Vocalist Cesar does a solid job, but he gets outplayed by Nejc Heine, who rattles off two tracks, including the best one, Metamorphosis (with a guest solo from Josh Christian of the cult band Toxik), which stands out for its exceptional, ominous atmosphere. While the idea isn’t totally off, using two completely different vocalists mostly breaks the album’s red thread, and that’s partly why Astral Projection sounds a bit too scattered in places. The quality of the tracks wavers too, and the momentum gets slightly interrupted by the instrumental Without Boundaries, which is a touch too long and would have worked better as a shorter bridge between two songs.
Despite some minor teething problems, Astral Projection is a promising start, and the band has already proven live that they work even better than on the debut. It’ll be interesting to hear what Cordura cook up for the new studio record, which is already in the works.
Line-up
Tim Draksler – guitar (1-10)
Cesar Vigouroux – vocals (2, 3, 4, 9, 10)
Nejc Heine – vocals (5, 7)
Grega Plamberger – drums (1-10)
Uroš Apat – bass (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Dragan Bagarič – bass (6)
GUESTS:
Josh Christian – lead guitar (7)
Nic Grobolsek – lead guitar (9)
Grega Habič – lead guitar (9)
Production
Tim Draksler
Tracklist
1. The Origins of Selves
2. Throne of Agony
3. Cursed Pilgrim
4. Gatherer of Souls
5. Purging Impurity
6. Without Boundaries
7. Metamorphosis
8. The Passage
9. Binding of Immortality
10. Astral Projection
