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CASPIAN

Post Rock/Math rock • United States


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Caspian picture
Caspian biography
Taken from http://www.myspace.com/caspiantheband

When drowning in the appropriate sound, you find yourself achieving the same fundamental effects in your soul as coming up for air has in the body. Caspian is that appropriate sound. An instrumental rock band from Beverly, Massachusetts formed in Autumn of 2003, these four men have crafted a sound that is immediately riveting, emotionally devastating and achingly passionate. Characterized by towering walls of sound, oceanic guitar work and viscious rhythmic elements, Caspian is a band that knows how to imbed itself within the part of you that refuses to easily surrender.

Take a walk around the bands home co-ordinates and you might find some clues. Tan stretches of sand and the infinite blue horizon of the Atlantic could be bigger influences here than anything else. The relentless seasonal cycle might explain the bands desire to cover everything from gentle and placid to furious and destructive, all while maintaining a unified musical sensibility, and a fierce sense of adventure. Live in an area like this and you're bound to create something hopeful, inspiring and downright massive. Caspian wants to bring you to places like this and to places we all haven't seen yet. Let them take you.



Why this artist must be listed in www.progarchives.com :
Approved by the Post-Rock Team.



Discography:
You Are The Conductor, EP (2005)
The Four Trees, studio album (2007)
...

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CASPIAN discography


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CASPIAN top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.59 | 20 ratings
The Four Trees
2007
3.21 | 14 ratings
Tertia
2009
3.91 | 13 ratings
Waking Season
2012
4.00 | 11 ratings
Dust and Disquiet
2015
4.05 | 2 ratings
On Circles
2020

CASPIAN Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

CASPIAN Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

CASPIAN Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

CASPIAN Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

3.12 | 12 ratings
You Are The Conductor
2005
3.50 | 2 ratings
Tour
2006
5.00 | 1 ratings
La Cerva / Passage
2008

CASPIAN Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 On Circles by CASPIAN album cover Studio Album, 2020
4.05 | 2 ratings

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On Circles
Caspian Post Rock/Math rock

Review by TCat
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

4 stars Caspian is a post/math rock band from Massachusettes that came together in 2003 and through the years have released several albums and EPs of their instrumental music. In January of 2020, they released their 5th album "On Cirles" that features some of their unique takes on the genre in the form of 8 tracks ranging from 4 to 8 minutes in length. The core band now features 6 musicians and, on this album, a few guests to help add some dynamic and variety in this album.

Beginning with "Wildblood" you know right away this is far from the formulaic post rock sound as a sax comes in giving some depth to the instrumental music and almost bringing it to a fusion sound with a unique feel. The variation in sound help to set this apart from the typical sound, and a more unpredictable dynamic is used that nevertheless allows the music to reach that climactic ending that you desire. "Flowers of Light" has an underlying riff that feels like the sparkling of the sun shining and actually takes away the usual darkness created by the increasing intensity, and also makes the music take on a whirling sensation, stirring everything together into an almost uplifting sound.

"Nostalgist" begins more dream-like from the arpeggios coming from the guitar and bass, and then a surprise from guest vocalist Kyle Dufrey. The unexpected vocals only add more texture to the overall album, and the music is even quite accessible. The music builds and releases, as expected, but then resolves itself into a smooth and even beat while at the same time building emotional levels in the vocals. Cellist Jo Quail also joins in a few tracks such as "Division Blues" which shows the band moving through different textures, the wall of guitar sound waxing and waning, always there, but never overpowering as they push out a theme using dynamics to keep it from growing stale or overly forced. It takes on a more cinematic feel than it does the usual post-rock feel, the instruments sounding more like an orchestra-style setting than a rock band.

A study in contrasts come out in the next two tracks with "Onsra" creating a nice, dreamy feel, almost sounding like a shoegaze style but with a cool, experimental vibe and a warbling effect in the percussion that appears in the middle of the track. It gives you a feeling of sailing on an open sea. However, the contrast comes with "Collapser" which is almost a complete opposite of the previous track, dark and heavy, shimmering guitars fade in taking us to another realm completely. The feeling of brightness apparent in the previous tracks is completely lost in this one, as it churns along, creating yet another texture in this dynamic collection of tracks. In the middle of this one, a chunky bass churns out angrily pushing the guitars to increase their loudness, but a sudden resolve makes for calm which soon gets pushed again into walls of dark sound and heaviness, yet with an intriguing melody that sticks with you after the track is finished.

"Ishmael" is a wonderful, standout track, which features swaying chords which give way to a violin, cello and strummed guitar. You get an almost "GY!BE" vibe here as it slowly develops, yet there is a level of clarity to the music that is not often heard in this genre. Chiming guitars eventually take the melody as underneath it, a smooth countermelody is contrasting the harsher guitar, however, the music still has that uplifting feel to it, and the drums eventually find their beat leveling everything out nicely. The music builds again some more, and then falls off as we hear layers of guitar and synth sparkling along to the end. The album ends with "Circles on Circles" which provides another surprise of a nice solo acoustic guitar and vocals by regular band member Phillip A Jamieson. The vocals are softly layered to create and soft harmonization and a smooth tonal drone create a nice atmosphere. The track remains mellow and relaxing, even when the smooth rhythm kicks in. Beautiful.

What we end up with here is an excellent album that proves that variety can exist in post rock music without taking the music completely outside of its genre. Dynamics can be spread throughout tracks and not used so predictably as with other post rock bands. This album is wonderfully textured all the way through, and offers a surprising variation of sound and style, while still keeping within the genre. It's all very nice and, with only a few exceptions, well structured and interesting. The music keeps you engaged, and doesn't have to be just used as background music, but has plenty to offer to make you want to listen. 4 stars. Very enjoyable.

 Waking Season by CASPIAN album cover Studio Album, 2012
3.91 | 13 ratings

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Waking Season
Caspian Post Rock/Math rock

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars This is a really enjoyable Post-Rock album from an American band called CASPIAN. This is their third studio album and they are a six piece with three guitarists, drums, bass and keys/synths. So much of this is A+ for me but besides some not so great material my biggest issue are the intrusive drums. Either mixed high in this recording or simply loud on purpose, I don't know but that was an issue for me from the first spin. Too bad because this had 4.5 stars or more written all over it. Still this is a very solid 4 stars and one of the better Post-Rock albums I've reviewed of late. I like the title "Waking Season" the cover art not so much.

"Waking Season" opens with some powerful atmosphere that is replaced by piano quickly but the atmosphere will come and go until acoustic guitar takes over but then atmosphere is back one more time. A beat and full sound soon arrive. It starts building and it sounds really good at 4 1/2 minutes. It ends abruptly, too abruptly. "Procellous" opens with keys as atmosphere rolls in then a beat. It's building. It's heavier after 2 minutes and there's so much going on. They're kicking it pretty hard 3 minutes in with guitars over top. Powerful is the word after 4 minutes. It then settles back and continues to wind down as we get piano only to end it.

"Gone In Bloom And Bough" is a top three for me. The atmosphere gets louder as sounds start to pulse and drums join in. Melodic guitars before 1 1/2 minutes. Heavier drums follow and then some emotion before 3 minutes. It's even heavier before 4 1/2 minutes but then a calm arrives a minute later with atmosphere and picked guitar. Beautiful. It's slowly building again before it kicks in after 7 1/2 minutes and it picks up speed. A calm after 9 minutes as deep sound vibrate to end it. "Halls Of The Summer" has fast paced percussion and strummed guitar. More too actually as heavy drums kick in just before a minute.

"Akiko" is a pretty good tune and I especially like the sound at 2 minutes as we get some emotion with that guitar. It settles right down over the final minute a we can hear a baby laughing. "High Lonesome" opens with atmosphere that builds along with what sounds like vocal melodies. I really like this. Guitar before 3 1/2 minutes as the atmosphere stops. "Hickory '54" has heavy beats and guitar as spacey sounds and more are added as it builds. Post-Rock guitars come in over top at 3 1/2 minutes. Great sound to this one in the second half. Quite powerful and it winds down late.

"Long The Desert Mile" is a top three as well. Atmosphere and picked guitar as drums join in. Vocal melodies a minute in and this is emotional. Love this! Back to the guitars. How good does this sound 3 1/2 minutes in as the guitar lights it up. Such an uplifting sone. "Collider In Blue" is a 2 1/2 minute soundscape of mostly spacey atmosphere that sounds like an intro for the closer "Fire Made Flesh" my final top three. That spacey atmosphere from the previous song continues here as it blends into it. Drums and guitar start to rise out of this eventually and soon it's getting powerful around 2 1/2 minutes. It continues to build as a wall of sound hits us with heavy drums. Check out the sound before 4 1 1/2 minutes, so catchy and heavy. Spacey sounds join in too making this sound amazing! The guitars are soloing over top. It's building again. Heavy duty to end it as it ends abruptly.

A must listen for Post-Rock fans out there.

 Dust and Disquiet by CASPIAN album cover Studio Album, 2015
4.00 | 11 ratings

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Dust and Disquiet
Caspian Post Rock/Math rock

Review by Insin

4 stars Caspian began life as a fairly generic post-rock band, one that lacked much substance behind their music. Over the years, they have expanded their sound while still remaining within the general post-rock genre, and their 2015 effort Dust and Disquiet sees them continue to expand and improve their songwriting.

Still relying on a post-rock basis, Dust and Disquiet moves farther away from a bright and fluffy sound comparable to Explosions in the Sky. I for one tend to prefer gloomier, melancholic post-rock rather than the more upbeat side of the genre, and some of this explores darker and deeper territory, with influence from post-metal and more than just one or two definite moments of heaviness. The songs are generally mid-length, but there are quite a few full-fledged, buildup-oriented epics present that are able to create the beginnings of a mood. The metal elements are an integral part of Dust and Disquiet's appeal, as these longer pieces are based more around a heavy finish as their climaxes rather than a happy, uplifting one, aside from the title track, a song in two movements. Carrying a feeling of boldness, Arc of Command especially brings the dramatic flair that in some cases defines D&D.

Caspian is firmly rooted in post-rock, but they subtly reach outside of the genre, even outside of post-metal, with the presence of further diversity. Darkfield's percussion solo, played on exactly what I can't tell (but it's not a typical rock drum kit), serves as a great intro to the rest of the song. D&D features vocals, although the vast majority of the release remains instrumental. The vocals take a background role on Echo and Abyss, but calm acoustic ballad Run Dry is more centered on these than anything else. Caspian seems to have also taken a liking for quiet, almost ambient short tracks, from the introductory, warm and soothing Separation No. 2, to interlude Equal Night, to Aeternum Vale, the song that sets up the album's grand finale. It's a bit disappointing that their most unconventional instrumentation is on these short songs.

Caspian's expansion of their sound, while still largely post-rock with some heavier flourishes, coupled with an improvement in songwriting, provides an excellent release. Dust and Disquiet's direction might eventually lead to some truly quality and innovative material in the future; I look forward to hearing what this band does next.

 You Are The Conductor by CASPIAN album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 2005
3.12 | 12 ratings

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You Are The Conductor
Caspian Post Rock/Math rock

Review by memowakeman
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars This 2015 was a prolific year regarding post-rock, a year in which I managed to discover dozens of bands that had been on the road for some years but had not been on my scope; one of those bands was Caspian, who released their latest album this year, an album that was even selected as the best post-rock album of 2015 in some sites. But well, right now I will not write about that album, but about the roots of Caspian, this band from Massachusetts whose first steps take us back to 2004, and whose first release takes us to 2005 when You Are the Conductor saw the light.

Of course, with the great demand of artists in this post-rock genre, it is not easy to be a highlight band, though honestly I don't really know any weak post-rock band, because I think they always have something good to offer, and Caspian is not the exception. This debut EP from the quartet offers almost half an hour of great music that covers the light and the heavy sides of post-rock, both sides with that obvious emotional feeling. It opens with 'Quovis' which is a shorte one-minute track whose heavy sound leads us to 'Further Up', a song that brings beauty and a smile to our face with those great guitars. Then the song progresses, builds up a structure and becomes more emotional. Wonderful!

'Further in' has a lot of energy on it, and I love that no matter that energy they introduce a soft and delicate glockenspiel sound that brings tenderness and beauty. The guitar work is amazing, emotional to death. 'Loft' is another wonderful song, full of changes in mood and tempo, full of colors and textures, a song that is easy to enjoy and like, a carousel of sounds and emotions.

What I love the most of this release is that it perfectly flows, I mean, there are no stops so when you don't expect, you are already listening to a new track. 'For Protection' starts truly soft, it is very melancholic, introspective, and even sad. The last song is the longest one and it is entitled 'Last Rites'. Here, Caspian delights us with almost ten minutes of first- class post rock that fulfills our souls with those changes, those emotions and all the images the music produces. Of course, this is also an example of progressive rock, not at its purest, but in one of its (controversial, I know) subgenres. A great introductory release from Caspian, a band whose music is truly great, believe me. Their studio albums can tell it, so go and listen to them. My final grade will be 3 solid stars.

Enjoy it!

 Tertia by CASPIAN album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.21 | 14 ratings

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Tertia
Caspian Post Rock/Math rock

Review by BrufordFreak
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars I agree with snobb: full instrumental music must be very different, have great diversity and, yes, complexity (though melody is, IMHO, also important in order to 'hook' the listener). While CASPIAN does a fine--even great--job of creating classic post rock--with great production and performances, better than average melodies, and some interesting shifts in dynamics--the genre as a whole makes it rather difficult to make an entire album--expecially a long (more than 60 mins.) one--of intriguing, diverse, attention-grabbing songs. I rate CASPIAN's "Tertia" in the upper echelon of post rock/math rock albums I've heard--with MOGWAI, MONO, APPLESEED CAST RED SPAROWES, MASERATI, and THE MERCURY PROGRAM but not quite up there with my favorites: GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT's "All Is Violent, All Is Bright" or MY EDUCATION's "Sunrise" or " GIFTS FROM ENOLA's "Gifts from Enola" or COLLAPSE UNDER THE EMPIRE's " The Sirens Sound" or DATURAH's "Reveries." (ULVER's "Shadows of the Sun" I do not really consider a post rock/math rock album--I think it is mis-categorized.) Perhaps the 'EP' format is best for these post rock/math rock bands. Still, Caspian has put out a collection of very high quality if formatted songs--many with catchy melodies and twists.

My favorites are: "Ghost of the Garden City" and "Epochs in Dmaj"--5 stars; " La Ceurva," "Vienna," and "Sycamore"--4 stars.

The album over all is 3.5 stars: Good, but not essential for the general prog lover, Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection for fans of the Post Rock/Math Rock sub-genre.

 Tertia by CASPIAN album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.21 | 14 ratings

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Tertia
Caspian Post Rock/Math rock

Review by snobb
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars Second album of this US post-rock band started with very ambient sounds with some more piano-like incluses in between. Aerial and melancholic. But from the second song they show their real face - twin guitars heavy sound with some Fripp influence. Mid tempo music is filling all the air around you with almost metal sounds.

"Ghosts Of The Garden City " is full of loops and electronic sounds again. But guitars and drums are on the first plan. Melody is nice, but a bit standard, possibly you like it, but it sounds as you heard this song many times before. "Malacoda" contains guitars on the first plan and some dark atmosphere (remind me of grunge era). I think, it is characteristic to all album's music - being quite usual American post-rock band (what means for me twin guitars+bass+drums+ electronics team with accent on guitar sound and with high energetic, often on the border with post metal), I feel big influence of Radiohead-like music in their sound.

After 3-4 songs you don't wait for unexpected music from this album anymore. They play competent post-rock at the level of average post-rock band, but have same big problem with their music as their competitors have. Full instrumental music must be very different, very complex, very unusual, very concentrated or really very excellent just to attract listener during all long album. And it happens very rare, with best genre albums only.

There is not such case. Even if this work is really not bad if its genre frames.

 The Four Trees by CASPIAN album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.59 | 20 ratings

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The Four Trees
Caspian Post Rock/Math rock

Review by ClemofNazareth
Special Collaborator Prog Folk Researcher

3 stars The couple of years since Caspian’s debut EP have been good to the band. Their sound, while still not particularly innovative or genre-bending, is still quite appealing for pretty much the same reasons any other good post-rock bands is appealing: striking arrangements, invigorating crescendos, and soothing lulls in between. So apparently these guys have been good students of style.

What distinguishes them? Not much really. Their compositions tend to be a bit tighter and more to-the- point than some of their more ambitious brethren. You won’t find them indulging in side-long epics; the longest track on this (their first full-length album) is only nine minutes and most are around five, veritable interludes for bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Sigur Rós. But lots of other post- rock bands put out albums with shorter songs, so that’s nothing new really.

And they don’t spend much time with the lulls and ambience either (which is largely why their tracks are so short I suppose). Here again though there are others of the same ilk: Explosions in the Sky and Tortoise among them.

But still the guitar churn, feedback and well-placed loops have great energy, and the band doesn’t skimp when it comes to layering sounds that wait to be discovered when the volume dial passes eight or so. The opening track “Moksha” is a perfect example with a quickly-building crescendo that adds percussion and synthesized accompaniment to the guitar drone almost immediately, followed by a fuzz- laden buildup that catches your ear and holds it all the way through the follow-on “Some are White Light” before finally backing off just a bit on the more staid “Sea Lawn”. But by the time things let up just a bit you’re nearly twenty minutes into the album and wondering where the time went. For some reason that strikes me as a bit impressive.

“Crawlspace” is a track that also appeared on a 2006 promo EP, and this one also hits the ground running and has very little letup. The rhythm guitar here makes the whole thing work with a persistent and rapidly-building surge to the climax you know is coming, and there is no disappointment when it does. Again, nothing novel, just good music and well-orchestrated.

“Book IX” features some syncopated drumming that gives it a bit of added intensity and the guitar work is particularly clean and energetic, while “The Dropsonde” (what’s a ‘dropsonde’ anyway?) and “Brombie” tend toward a bit of self-indulgence with the drone and recorded loops, but who’s quibbling. “Our Breath in Winter” sounds like something out of an Explosions in the Sky album, a comparison that can be made of several Caspian tracks, and “the Dove” is just ambient filler.

The guitar work on “Asa” sounds suspiciously like “Moksha” although I can’t say I really mind, and “…Reprise” sort of summarizes the whole album (hence the title).

So all in all a more consistent effort than their EP, but the band doesn’t seem to have quite found a unique voice just yet. A good album though, and worth seeking out if you’re into post-rock with lots of energy. Three stars, and here’s looking forward to hearing what they come up with next.

peace

 You Are The Conductor by CASPIAN album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 2005
3.12 | 12 ratings

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You Are The Conductor
Caspian Post Rock/Math rock

Review by ClemofNazareth
Special Collaborator Prog Folk Researcher

3 stars Caspian are yet another unheralded American post-rock band that emphasizes highly repetitive and sometimes complex guitar progressions in their music augmented by digital sound loop sequences and the obligatory cymbal-heavy drums. The music on this (their debut EP) is nothing spectacular or innovative, but unlike a lot of other emerging bands on minor labels they manage to craft a sound that is more distinctive than derivative, so for that they merit a listen by fans of this genre of music.

Just for the sake of comparison to give those who don’t know the band some sense of their music, I would say the most well-known band they come closest to resembling is probably Sigur Rós. This EP consists of one basic theme spread across five short and one longer track, and all of them are somewhat in the vein of “Sćglópur” but without most of the ambient parts of that song. Caspian just as energetic as Sigur Rós in the heavier drone parts of their tracks, but the difference is they don’t let up much like Sigur Rós does so the overall effect is one of a pretty aggressive band working hard to make a definitive statement.

My only complaint really is that this is a pretty short album even for an EP, clocking in at only twenty- seven minutes even with the nine minute-plus closing track “Last Rites”. My understanding is the band had a couple other demo discs in the can by the time they released this, so I’m a bit curious why they didn’t extend this to an entire album to make the effort truly worthwhile.

But this is a minor annoyance at best, and the music that is here is prototypical post-rock played with the expected level of precision and vigor so it isn’t likely to disappoint anyone who picks it up. The arrangements do tend to be a little predictable though, and at several points (particularly on “Further Up” and “Last Rites”) I found myself humming in advance what I expected their next change-up to be. I was usually dead-on. There are some very subtle loops that are tastefully embedded among the guitar drones that are quite beautiful if you catch them, but I would say you’ll need a very good and loud stereo to do so – you will undoubtedly miss many of the layers on a set of earbuds connected to an mp3 player for sure.

Also the presence of the glockenspiel adds a nice touch. That instrument tends to sound like a myriad of bells when played well, which is a great complement to the ever-present twin guitars.

Like I said, nothing special and surely not essential, but this is a very decent work by an emerging band and worth the modest price if you can find it. Recommended with three stars.

peace

 The Four Trees by CASPIAN album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.59 | 20 ratings

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The Four Trees
Caspian Post Rock/Math rock

Review by chamberry
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars The power of Post-Rock in tiny bite-size pieces.

...And that's exactly what Caspian does, show how powerful Post-Rock can be in songs that are relatively short for such an epic sound. Like Saxon Shore these guys don't like to keep the crowd waiting for the good parts of their music, unlike Saxon Shore they do it with such power and aggression that it's downright intimidating! I'm not kidding here, these guys could easily damage your ears if not careful.

The music on this album is pretty standard post-rock with crescendos and soft/loud dynamics. There's nothing new on this album nor innovative. So, where's the fun in that? Well, while some bands are breaking boundaries and pushing the limits of what can be called Post-Rock, there are other bands that stay true to their roots and try to perfect the old and worn Post-Rock sound (other just play without caring what people say. Props to them for keeping the genre alive). Caspian are one of those traditional bands and they're trying to bring new life to the genre without doing anything new, the weird thing is that it works!

While many people will simply ignore them for their lack of originality, others will find great excitement and enjoyment in them. I must admit that I was one of the former at first (partly due to their EP which I didn't liked at all) and it wasn't up until now that I decided to give them a chance, it was amazing! I played the album at the highest volume level (the only way to enjoy it) and just sat back and sucked it all in. The music is very positive and the melodies are uplifting to say the least! When listening to the crescendos on this album one's filled with so much life and joy that it can brighten anyone's day in mere minutes, on this aspect Caspian reminds me of Yndi Halda, but more guitar-oriented. The music is just plain loud throughout most of the album except for some acoustic and soft moments in between like Sea Lawn which maintains the same level of quality as the louder songs, but there are others that sound a bit pointless (like The Dove).The main problem with Caspian's music is their own strength! The album leaves you exhausted because of their massive sound and it's pretty hard to take so much in just one sitting, not that the album is long though(its one hour-long).

I was one of those fans that was growing weary about the state of Post-Rock, but Caspian helped me appreciate those bands that aren't really innovative while still making wonderful music. This goes to show you that you don't have to be special to be good and I learned this recently and the hard way. So if you're looking for something new in the genre then look elsewhere, but if you want some massive, uplifting and bone-crushing music then look out for Caspian. Highly recommended!

Thanks to chamberry for the artist addition.

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