THE DISCOVERY

Beginning with an ill sense of calm, the wail of an air raid leads into the first wave of trademark djenty chaos that defines Cloudkicker. A few minutes it, you get a sense of what this album is about; taking the atonal, highly mathematical crushing rhythms that bands like Meshuggah have done before, and replacing abrasive vocals with underlying atmosphere and melody. Being that Meshuggah has always been a band I was never able to enjoy too much for it's abrasive vocals and lack of apparent melody, Cloudkicker seems like a gift from the clouds above, allowing me to enjoy math metal without any of the initial flaws to the formula that turned me off.

While you're going to need a tough ear to listen to the whole palette of madness in one listen, I find that melodies and 'mellow break' interludes are placed in just the right places; sort of like 'checkpoints' in an otherwise delightfully messy journey.

While it's going to sound like 'noise' to those not yet accustomed to the nuances and technique of this little genre, the stuff really is brilliant, if but a little samey throughout. It really takes a genius at the helm to make each instrument play in a different time, and yet still have it come together into something cohesive.

The highlight tracks are certainly 'Dysphoria' and the title track 'Discovery.' The other heavy tracks- while keeping up the same level of mathematical proficiency- end up not acheiving the marriage of melody and rhythm that those two do. The latter of the tracks mentioned works out to be around seven or eight minutes long, and has an entire portion devoted to a hypnotizing exercise in atmosphere; a crescendo that leads back into the typical heaviness, only making the heaviness sound even heavier in contrast.

The EPs this one-man project has delved out have very little, if not nothing on this. Ben Sharp has fashioned a remarkably solid debut creation here, and while a little bit of exploration outside his supposed 'comfort zone' would do wonders for the sophomore, this is a piece of music that has been quite enjoyable to listen to.

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