TERRAFORMER

This is a self-titled EP from a Belgian band, Terraformer. Although labelled as post-rock, his band takes a heavier approach to them than I would have expected, often to the point of being metal. Although twenty odd minutes is not quite enough to make a lasting judgement on a band, it is clear that Terraformer has some good potential in their hands. Call it math-rock or whatever you wish, the band falls into a somewhat chaotic mesh of sludge metal, atmospheric post-rock, and even jazz, as brought to you by the rather technical lead guitar work that drives some of the band's most memorable moments. Released for free on Terraformer's bandcamp page, I would not be surprised to see them reaching some level of acclaim in the math-rock scene, although I feel that this is more of a rough cut, rather than an end result.

Terraformer are coming into post-rock at a stage where the genre has basically been exploited to death, so its clever of them to juice up their sound with other styles. At first, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the grit in the band's guitar tone, this is the sound of a band that is not afraid to get a bit heavy. In fact, moments on this album are quite reminiscent of post-metal act Neurosis, in the sense that the guitars use sludgy riffs. This is in tandem with lighter guitars, particularly a finger tapping technique that Terraformer uses quite a bit to flesh out their sound. In fact, the finger tapping is both the most distinct and most overused aspect of the band. The music is left to the cross between the lighter tapping and heavier sludge, and there are no vocals here, save for a few moments where the band tries their hand at sampling dialogue. These spoken word pieces don't do much, save for providing a break from the music.

'Terraformer' is a pretty cool EP, and the band can be said to have a fairly firm grip of their style here. Still, I think that this is moreso a band stretching their wings, rather than a bold statement in itself. It is enjoyable and raw, but lacking the kick to make it truly stand out from the crowd.

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