PREHISTORICISMS

I first found out about Intronaut after listening to a few of maudlin of the Well's albums. I took a look at Prog Archives Experimental/Post Metal section and saw this rather high-rated album with a very interesting title and cover art. I took an interest in the album and decided to take a few listens. Prehistoricisms opens with a light, melancholy guitar line in odd time with ambience added. Literal Black Cloud opens with down-tuned guitars and fretless bass (barely noticeable at first) playing a diminished riff in odd time. At first I thought I wouldn't be able to listen to Intronaut because of the screaming vocals, but I've learned to adjust. The song goes into a lighter, fretless bass-lead section. One of the guitarists plays arpeggios while the other swells in beautiful harmonies. The main riff is introduced again, but with the second guitarist playing it up 2 whole steps (major 3rds). This is an obvious King Crimson influence (the added major 3rds sound incredibe). The song continues to contrast through beautiful fretless bass-lead sections and heavy metal guitar work. The fretless bass is definitely my favorite part about this album, especially when providing the low end to glissandos. The next song is similar in structure but shorter. Prehistoricisms is very aggressive song featuring many diminished harmonies and fretless bass arpeggios. Any Port begins with fretless bass playing a melody in odd time. This is probably my least favorite song on the album; the guitar effects and harmonies are less than favorable and it's repetitious. Sundial opens with a King Crimson-esque riff (due to those major 3rds added to everything again). This song goes through a variety of sections that actually reminds me Egg because of the complexity. The latter part of the song has the bass playing very diminished riffs in between the guitar's 7th chords. Australopithecus is probably my favorite song. It opens with a very quick and aggressive riff that is very well executed. If Intronaut were to be moved to Tech/Extreme Prog, this song is why. The bassist is all over his guitar neck. A slower, aggressive riff takes place under the vocals. A lighter section is introduced and the song goes back to the more aggressive, vocal-lead section. At 2:34, the song enters an incredibly beautiful chromatic section. The fretless bass plays tasteful harmonies while the guitars play arpeggios or simple delayed lines. Back to the vocal-lead section. The Reptilian Brain opens with a very eastern texture. I believe the instrument is the tabla. Fretless bass plays over the dark ambience. A tabla beat is introduced and the bass plays over it for 5 minutes. Drums are introduced as the tabla begins to fade out. Guitar and bass begin playing a rather simple progression. The song eventually leads to a dark section with an odd guitar effect. This leads to an aggressive, diminished bit. The majority of this song is dissonant with a few hints of consonance. The problem with this song is that it is not very exciting or emotionally upbringing at all. Prehistoricisms is layered with incredible bass lines, guitar harmonies, and odd times. Prog, jazz, and metal of all kinds are prominent throughout the album. Most songs feature a light/ambient consonance section to get away from the aggressive metal riffs. My main complaints are the vocals, double bass (which isn't prominent but I find them unfavorable), and the final song's lack of excitement.