Descending Patterns

Sicilian progressive metal band EpisTheme was formed in Catania in 2010 by bassist Riccardo Liberti. The project eventually gathered more members and in time grew into a full-fledged quintet. In 2014, their debut release would hit the air, their first full-length called "Descending Patterns."

A good way to describe this record would be 'balanced,' starting with the musicianship. The vocals sound great, with the half-screaming, half-singing bringing a lot of aggression to the table. This vigor, however, is rounded out by the technical instrumentation. Both the guitar and drumming performances are carried through with a progressive and heavy edge. The guitars boast chunky notes laden into addictive grooves and hooks spread throughout the album's running time. Meanwhile, the percussion once again has a complex lining to it, but it remains solid and also makes way for some more catchy grooves to pull you in.

Along with the musicianship, the production knows how to give the record a sound that tiptoes gracefully between boldness and ambiance. To be more specific, it hits the equilibrium where it comes across as powerful enough for the vocals and instruments to leave their impact and clear enough for those same elements to let their technical prowess sink in. As a result, the mixing adds to the music and makes it into a more potent listen.

The last aspect to speak of balance here is the structuring of the music itself. It sort of lies within the vein of acts such as Tool and Tesseract, in that it stitches its hooks and passages together in a simple but complex manner. In other words, the instrumental complexity is there for fans of said medium can admire such about the album, but it's played out in a way that it easily progresses and builds as the track passes so that they're easy to follow. The best example of this would be "Erase that Frame," where the grooves brought on by the progressive musicianship are built in a simple but effective fashion. Because of this, "Descending Patterns" is a good example of an 'artistic' record.

Seeing as how the music has a sort of a bleak environment, the lyrics also share that trait, touching upon social and psychological themes. "Silent Screaming," for an example, deals with self-destruction and deterioration, as demonstrated by lines such as "Wounded spirit defies me to desecrate all the good that's left in my heart, ripping deeply to the marrow of my soul." They fit the songs' tone perfectly, and just like the structuring, they're written with a poetic edge without becoming too wordy, and they are quite intriguing to read and listen to.

While "Descending Patterns" doesn't have quite enough for it to be a total masterpiece of musical composition, it does come relatively close. The way the impressive instrumentation is woven into these tracks with tact and atmosphere is a very intriguing feat, and it ends up creating a provocative specimen of metal. It's an all-around strong effort, and it makes it very clear that this band has a lot of potential. Hardcore fans of music driven by depth and complexity should have no problem finding themselves getting lost in this fine release.


Originally posted on: http://metaljerky.blogspot.com/

Formed by Italian bassist Riccardo Liberti in 2010, EpisTheme is a five piece progressive metal outfit that released their debut full length album, Descending Patterns, in April of 2014. Featuring seven tracks and just under forty minutes of music, EpisTheme takes the listener on a journey through varying shades of progressive metal that could loosely be placed within the confines of late eighties era of Fates Warning, mixed with the dark and brooding nature of Deadsoul Tribe and extreme progressive metal a la mid-period Opeth or a less djenty version of Meshuggah. That’s a lot of ground to cover, really it is, but EpsiTheme manages to scatter all of those influences throughout their debut album and manage to still sound unified.

Despite the band's claim that their music is progressive death metal, the music on Descending Patterns is better described as dark and emotional progressive metal. Sure the band injects a good bit of heaviness throughout, like the staccato riffing during “Endless Apathy” or the groovy chugging during “Blindside”, but their bread and butter so to speak comes when the band introduces their dark sense of melody. The melodic minor picking and jazzy bass line during “Eyeland” and the ghostlike quietude during “Shades of May” show the band's progressive leanings, but with a darker shade than usual. Songs like “Silent Screaming” attempt to bridge the gap between the heavy and the serene, with smooth and clean vocals over high octane riffing and double kicked drums, but it sounds somewhat forced when piled on top of each other. Another example, “Erase That Frame”, which starts with a prog death lick, similar to Still Life era Opeth, builds into a choppy track that really crumbles under its own weight, until a melodically infused, minor key segment breaks the stagnancy.

There are two distinct styles of singing, one being a rather calm and emotive mid-range clean, similar to Buddy Lackey and the other being a deep shouted style with a trailing echo. It's a solid mix, but I feel like the clean vocals have so much more power than the one dimensional and quite generic heavier vocals. While I find the band's strong point to be their slower, more traditional progressive metal moments, the band actually focuses on the heavier parts for a majority of the album. Sure, the moody, temperamental stuff is wound throughout, but it's almost like afterthoughts, unfortunately. Even the melodically infused “Eyeland” delves into chugging rhythms and some progressive death metal leanings.

EpisTheme's debut album, Descending Patterns, is a solid album, even though I wish they focused more on the quieter, emotive moments. This is truly and act to watch out for, as they have the proper chops and their song writing skills are top notch. I don't want to completely write off their heavier moments, because I believe without them the melodic sections wouldn't be as poignant, but I truly think that's where this band's magic lies. Despite a few missteps, and those are usually the choppy, chunky riffs, Riccardo Liberti and crew have released an enjoyable debut that fans of progressive metal (who don't mind a little screaming in the mix) should enjoy.

Written for The Metal Observer.