AYKROYD

"Aykroyd" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Canadian progressive metal act Electro Quarterstaff. The album was released through Willowtip Records in October 2011.

Electro Quarterstaff play an instrumental and extremely technical type of progressive metal on "Aykroyd". While it may seem strange when the music doesn't vocals and lyrics the band are actually very good at incorporating humour in their music to go along with the cartoonish cover artwork. The humouristic element works like a charm. Always delivered in a tasteful yet wacky manner. The tracks are querky, structurally complex and delivered in a convincing high energy fashion. Electro Quarterstaff features a drummer, a bassist and no less than three guitarists. The team of guitarists compliment each other well throughout the album. Dissonant chords, odd melodies and harmonies which threatens to bend your mind at any time. Backed by the powerful and well playing rythm section, the guitar attack is something out of the ordinary. While there are some mellower moments on the album like the opening track "The Wolf Shall Inherit The Moon", "Aykroyd" is generally a very busy and challenging affair that takes some time to sink in. Upon repeated listens the album reveals quite a few layers though and if you're up for a challenge it's definitely an album I can recommend.

We're talking high level musicianship, a great organic sound production and some pretty intriguing songwriting. I'd say somewhere between a 3.5 to a 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

ELECTRO QUARTERSTAFF was an instrumental avant-prog-metal band from Winnipeg, Canada. Released in 2011 by Willowtip Records, "Aykroyd" was their second full-length album which followed "Live" EP (2002), "Swayze" EP (2004) and the first full-length "Gretzky" (2006).

For the first time, all tracks were recorded with the addition of a bass-guitarist to the original line-up of three insane guitarists and a drummer. The music is loud, heavy, complex, dense, aggressive, speedy, and straight forward - a sort of mathematic puzzle to be solved from uneven melodic phrases, multiple shredding riffs and solos, as well as odd polyrhythmic patterns. In fact, this is practically unmemorable instrumental heavy-metal music, albeit thoroughly composed, focused, and controlled. Each song on this 41-minute album has its own individual theme and direction, and every moment of it is extremely intriguing and enjoyable' of course, if you have nothing against furious and stormy metallic showcase. The addition of bass has improved the band's overall sound, yet a new member seems to be as virtuously insane as the four founders.

Summing up - not for the faint-hearted, but for tough Avant-Prog-Metal veterans.