HERETICS

Such an intriguing band name for us P.Dick fans, a wonderful cover, being a trio (who doesn't love power rock trios?), big fuss around the band's quality and free to download: Dedicating some hours to ''Heretics'' seemed a very easy decision. The big question was one: Is the fuss justified? Have no doubt about it!

The first thing to notice is that DTES sounds like a super group. Their music shows such maturity, confidence and personality that would suit an arena-filling band and not three guys from Lexington, KY, in their second album, which is distributed for free. This characteristic in sound, songwriting and performance is so intense that immediately distinguishes DTES from the pile of newcoming bands. This is material for major labels and worldwide promotion.

DTES claims to be a progressive rock band and I love them for that. The truth is there are only a few prog elements to be found. I would describe them mostly as an incredibly artistic hard rock band. Their sound is massively electroacoustic, very unique in style and with a wide range of influences. Some Floyd and Genesis here and there, mainstream 80's rock (U2, Police), some alternative in the vein of early Pearl Jam, post rock (due to the extended use of atmospheres from guitar delays and reverbs) and certainly a lot of blues, especially in the guitar solos. At some moments, the melodic parts of straight hard rock bands like Indian rockers The Cult and Warrior Soul came to my mind. The band infiltrates all these elements (and more) into a new sound but what I love the most is this sound's mood: it's powerful and energetic, commercial without being cheesy, major but not too happy, minor but not too melancholic. I found some relevance with the good albums of Dredg, not in sound but in vibes.

All compositions are built around Matt Page's charismatic voice. If a band's success depends mostly on its singer, than DTES really have a great chance. His voice is different, filled with colorful tones, good old fashioned rocking clarity and well built technique. Sometimes, he resembles Jeff Buckley, in the way that he uses his vibrato at high notes and this is a very rarely-given compliment. His guitar playing is equally amazing, perfectly filling all the gaps and setting the stage for the fantastic vocal lines. Joey Waters & Chris Tackett deliver a more straightforward and rough sound in their rhythm section, trying to achieve excellence through simplicity. And they generally do. I also find it impressive that the band never uses heavy stereotypes and remains focused at its own vision, at all times.

There is not one mediocre moment here. All songs are of the same quality level, if you like one you will like all and I guess the opposite is true, too. So, I find no use in describing them separately. There are five epic songs longer than 8 minutes but I have to say that my favorites are ''Utopic'' and ''Fist to face'', two shorter tracks with magical melodies that hooked in my brain for weeks.

What DTES should do, in my opinion, in order to achieve even greater heights: Maybe a bit shorter duration than 75 minutes or a bit longer instrumental parts. A bit less dirty production. Wider use of other instruments (as Gazpacho did) would add grandeur to an already very colourful music.

Summing up: rock music of extreme quality from an unexpected band, music that every progster should find at least enjoyable. I think that DTES can achieve wonders artistically and, given the right resources/promotion, commercially too. Prog community should embrace and support them by all means, this is a band that can make us all proud. ''Heretics'' will definitely be on my top-10 list for 2014. Eagerly waiting to see what's next.

87/100. 4 electric stars!