HUXWHUKW

Austrailian tech metal act Serious Beak is new to the scene, but they have already been sparking some waves amongst the progressive metal community. Being a major fan of bands like Blotted Science and Canvas Solaris, I often jump at the opportunity to hear a band that takes the aggression of metal and channels it through precise composition and instrumental fury. 'Huxwhukw' was released in 2011, and while only now coming to my attention, it is clear that the band's more dissonance-centric style has plenty of potential. That being said, 'Huxwhukw' has not stirred me in a way tech metal has not already done many times over.

Serious Beak is much like fellow tech metallers Dysrhythmia in the sense that they channel their musical skills into creating slightly jarring compositions, as opposed to the sort of virtuosity that flows over the listener. Serious Beak does not innovate anything in their sound that comes across as being entirely fresh, but 'Huxwhukw' is a different breed of animal than a lot of technical metal you may have heard. There is a stark post-rock feel to Serious Beak whenever they are exercising dynamic, and when they are heavy, they convey the sort of chaotic energy I normally expect from mathcore. There is not much middle ground for Serious Beak; they are either tweaking out and chucking ideas into a listener's ear at a hundred miles a minute, or they are gently letting their instruments whisper softly to each other. More than often, the transitions between these two aspects is sudden and jarring, and although the first few times is a bit of a shock, the rocky switches become ironically predictable.

Serious Beak have plenty of energy to them, but their sound comes off as feeling a little plain. Although this is more a cause of the recording rather than the musicians' performance itself, I found that 'Huxwhukw's fairly dry recording and slant of 'predictable chaos' ran the music into the depths of monotony within a few listens. Although 'Huxwhukw's mathy angle does not fit my tastes however, the band's energy is enough for me to say that Serious Beak could go somewhere very cool with their sound in the future. I'm just not quite feeling their sound at the moment.