NEGATIVE SPACE

It was just a year ago when the quartet, hailing from Lakewood, Washington, dared to release their debut album 'Negative Space'. After researching a bit I'm overly surprised that this one has missed nearly any praise so far from the diverse prog realms all over the world. What a great find anyway! It's quite impossible to unveil some reliable credits, for example who is responsible for which instrument exactly, or the vocals. All what we know for certain is that Joe Crandall, Nabil Fadili, Rylie Nelson and Austin Schend are the composers and musicians behind this project. And the latter managing the orchestral duties at least, including more than ten instruments and a choir.

That would mean here we have an epic symphony at hand, though certainly featuring proper prog metal and art rock elements, plus some dazzling jazzy interludes. Promises quite unique stuff, or what? With Skin Deep it will start a bit innocent. But stay tuned, the compositions mature for sure, with the majestic The Advocate as the ultimate masterpiece. This track offers a somewhat all-in service, complex and gripping, heart-wrenching, melodic, charming and heavy at once. Fantastic one! 'Negative Space' delivers more than one hour of virtuoso instrumental presence overall. Really really fine due to exceptional song writing skills on top. 4.5 PA stars.

I truly believe this album to be a masterpiece. This band and this album take influences from all over the prog landscape, and bring them together to create something beautiful. At times you can hear influences from everyone from Native Construct, Moon Safari, The Dear Hunter, to Haken. The album is mixed and mastered by Jamie King (worked with artists such as: Devin Townsend, The Contortionist, BTBAM, and more) who nails it with this album. All of the tracks on this album are great in my opinion, but the standouts from the album are Innocent, The Advocate, and Our Happy Home. These guys really are something special and deserve more attention than they currently have.

In the closing years of this decade (Technically, 2021 will be the inaugural year of the new decade.), Artificial Silence released possibly the best progressive metal album of these short ten years, Negative Space. Its wistful, touching, and beautiful compositions permeate one's mind thanks to every song being well-written and well-played; there is no filler; there are no moments where one might be taken out of this musical experience due to incongruities. From awe-inspiring symphonic movements to jazzy sections, from yearning cello to exhilarating guitar and keyboard interplay, from beautifully played piano-driven motifs to melancholic lyrics, Artificial Silence delivers the epitome of progressive metal in their first and only LP.

Go listen to it.