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THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY

Cloudkicker

Experimental/Post Metal


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Cloudkicker The Map Is Not The Territory album cover
3.25 | 19 ratings | 3 reviews | 26% 5 stars

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Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, released in 2009

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Hold On (5:05)
2. Tip Your Van Driver (3:40)
3. Seriosity (5:15)
4. The Map Is Not The Territory (3:21)
5. Ever Thus To Deadbeats (8:34)

Total Time 25:55

Line-up / Musicians

- Ben Sharp / all instruments, programming

Releases information

Self Released

Thanks to Plankowner for the addition
and to proglucky for the last updates
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CLOUDKICKER The Map Is Not The Territory ratings distribution


3.25
(19 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(26%)
26%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(32%)
32%
Good, but non-essential (32%)
32%
Collectors/fans only (11%)
11%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

CLOUDKICKER The Map Is Not The Territory reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Conor Fynes
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars 'The Map Is Not The Territory' - Cloudkicker (6/10)

Returning again for another dose of rhythmic madness, Cloudkicker's Ben Sharp gives us 'The Map Is Not The Territory,' a logical extension of his first album that continues his impressive legacy of mathematically geared metal, albeit with less sucess than with the debut.

With this, first 'shorter' release of Cloudkicker's career, the rhythmic energy and finesse that made 'The Discovery' such a dazzling album is still here, but it still feels less engaging than before. Perhaps this is the result of the fact that there is little here to distinguish 'Map' from it's predecessor, or simply because of a lack of overall cohesion in the EP. In any case, alot of the beauty and melodic charm that Cloudkicker burst out onto the scene with doesn't seem to be here in such high esteem. Regardless of that, the technicality and heavier aspect of the project's music is still here in full.

For those who aren't familiar with the work of Cloudkicker, it is essentially a man that independently releases (and independently performs) math metal of epic proportions, much in the vein of Meshuggah. Unlike Meshuggah however, there are no harsh vocals to distract us from the instrumental proficiency, and hints of post-rock and atmosphere to give the music the added vibrance. While this might not sound like a formula for emotion, Ben Sharp does manage to throw in hints of feeling in there with the mechanical aggression. Such is demonstrated in the more subdued parts of his music. In 'Maps,' quite possibly the best example of this is at the very end of the EP with about two minutes left in 'Ever Thus To Deadbeats' (possibly the most involved track on the release) in which the percussive heaviness abates to make way for a moment of sombre aural tranquility before a breathtaking finale. If the rest of the album could have only reached the potential of the last two minutes, it would have even topped 'The Discovery.'

Luckily, many of the problems of 'The Map Is Not The Territory' would be solved in the successor, 'Portmanteau.' However, this stands as being a pretty good piece of work, even if it it's a bit too dry for it's own good.

Review by DangHeck
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars Apparently a true-blue EP, this was released shortly following the Cloudkicker debut, The Discovery. One of the opening statements made 13 years ago on this release's first review by msphelps (Michael?!) certainly struck me: Ben Sharp's "music is intense and focused", yet "loses momentum", that his strengths shine better on an EP than an LP. I can only assume this is true. [I'm now not so certain haha.]

And speaking of intensity, the opener "Hold On" is huge and brutally fast. A warning in the midst of the storm. We get a pretty unique shift around minute 2, with a really cool, unusual drum beat and clean instrumentation, which feels like it's looking forward to what would be accomplished by Animals As Leaders. For the genre, this opener offers a lot. We get another recommendation in the next, "Tip Your Van Driver". I think the reason I was able to latch on to these drums, despite their actual normalcy in modern Metal, is simply because of how strongly they're mixed. Regardless, Sharp is a talented musician all-round. Rapidly descending into a creep, "Tip" drones eerily along until its raucous close. Unfortunately, not much else happened here.

We hurry along with the next, "Seriosity". I guess Cloudkicker subscribes to some early Djent-isms. I'm not sure why I hadn't thought this before. Sonically, this track reminds me of Sevendust (which here is a compliment). Just a bit more here for me than the last track, given its middle section.

Ok... I stopped paying attention... The title track is still playing?... It's boring, honestly. Finally, and I mean it, we have "Ever Thus to Deadbeats", which... probably means something to someone. This is a long track, at over 8 minutes, so I was feeling weary yet again haha. Some cool riffs and, again, the drums have some cool patterns. And it's not even 3 minutes in and I'm checking my watch... Before the 5 minute mark, it shifts into softness, quietness. No drums or bass, just reverberations of clean guitar. In the most Post-Rock crescendo ever, following minute 6, we approach heft. Anyways, good things here, but hard-nope subgenre pitfalls aplenty.

A slight adjustment for how I really feel... True Rate: 2.5/5.0

Latest members reviews

4 stars For some reason, Cloudkicker seems best suited to short-form albums rather than longer ones. His music is intense and focused, and drawn out over too long a period of time and it loses momentum. "Map" does a good job of taking his original album, "The Discovery" and distilling it down to its root ... (read more)

Report this review (#272819) | Posted by msphelps | Thursday, March 18, 2010 | Review Permanlink

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