AUTOMATA I

So after their release of the mixed but good album Coma Ecliptic, the band wanted to push themselves to a new direction. This time they decide to ditch the long album lengths and instead make a split concept album, much like The Parallax. Unlike The Parallax, these two parts will be released four months apart, to most likely boost more sales and streams. These two albums seem to be rather forgotten about, heck I think their first album and Parallax I are more talked about. I can definitely see why since this was a weird choice for the band to do, but it allows them to be a little more creative in each of the two albums. So I'll be checking out Automata I and then the second part later today, since they are both the same album, but they have enough differences to warrant two reviews, and also because many sites make them be separate albums too.

The first song Condemned To The Gallows. This song showcases a sort of "return to form" as it will to the band's sound. Basically put this favors a bit more to the sound of past records before Parallax or The Great Misdirect, being a lot less experimental and more in the favor of a traditional progressive death metal sound. We still have that vocal arrangement side of things from Coma Ecliptic where there was sort of a lack of growls and screams, but here it is better handled. It feels like a good balance between the chaotic and the melodic sounds. I really do enjoy this style since it allows the band to really be a bit more creative, while also staying true to their signature sound.

The second song here is House Organ and I think this is probably the most synth heavy track on here. You can hear Tommy playing his synth keyboard throughout the run time and you can kinda get a feel of what the band wants to do with this record. It goes for a more melodic sense of style while also being heavy and bombastic. Though I do wish there would be a little more of that face melting chaos the band has done for so long. I think where earlier records suffered from a lot of chaos, this record and Coma Ecliptic suffers from a distinct lack of chaotic elements. I want those aggressive riffs and harmonies that are blending in with the calm and melodic side of things, not just one or the other. This song is fine, but it isn't their best out there.

Next up is Yellow Eyes. This track features a lot more weirder elements. Some parts of the song feel very bizarre in the vocals and musical aspects of it. It is a little Avant Garde in a way but not too much where it feels too out of the ordinary. This is also a little bit more insane. The more melodic stuff still takes hold of the whole song but you can definitely feel the chaos more thoroughly here than House Organ. Because of it, I think it's pretty great, super proggy but still has that division between the face melting insanity and the calming melodies.

Millions is next. This is probably the first song the band has made without any growls or screams. As I stated before, I want some intensity in my heavy metal music so hearing a lack of it in the vocals department is kinda sad. I really do enjoy this song instrumentally, it has some great riffs and some amazing melodies, but the lack of growls paired with those riffs and melodies is just super weird to me. I don't know it feels very much like a song that was intended to be the first one because songs like Mirrors and Node also had a lack of growls and screams and they were the first tracks on their respective albums, so Millions is kinda weird. Honestly this would work better if it was the first track rather than the fourth one.

Up next is Gold Distance. I am gonna be blunt, I do not care about this track. It's just a short ambient track. This could be removed from the album and basically nothing would change it. It's just there to be there honestly.

Blot is the last song on the album. This is the big track off this album, and it does serve what it intends to do very well. This is definitely the highlight of the album as it really does feel like it is building to a good payoff, and the ending we do get is super great being a bombastic metalcore-esque finish. The little moments this track has are pretty good and they really do understand how to utilize their riffing abilities to make awesome songs that are truly progressive. Sadly it still has a lot less growls than I wanted it to have, which is still weird to me since Tommy made no mention of the growling or screaming hurting his voice to where he would rather not do it as much, so I guess it is just a weird artistic choice. A good ending to the first part of this two way experience.

This album is kinda like Coma Ecliptic where it has great songs but they also feel a bit dry in the very intense aspects. It is a fine album, but I feel as though they are saving the best for later instead of having a good handful and mix that their other albums have going for them. Check it out if you want a little more Between The Buried and Me stuff.