PROTOTYPE
Progressive Metal • United States
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PROTOTYPE is a progressive metal band from Los Angeles formed in 1994 after Kragen Lum (guitar) and Vince Levalois (vocals, guitar) left the band PSYCHOSIS. They later found Damion Ramirez (drums) and Steve Gambina (bass) and immediately began recording the demo "Seeds" which was very well received by critics and fans.
After having extensive club appearances the band reentered the studio in 1997 to record an EP entitled "Cloned". This marked the first appearances of session drummer Pat Magrath and Mike Bear on bass who was later replaced in 1999 by Kirk Scherer. The new member helped the band improve their songwriting skills and completing their former lineup. Following these events the band released their first full length entiled "Trinity" through WWWIII Music/AMC in the U.S. and was later re-released in Europe through Massacre Records with two bonus tracks. In 2002 Pat Magrath parted ways and ever since the band has been working with several session drummers and it wasn't till July 2008 that the band enlisted Ric Nitter to their lineup.
In 2006 the band released their second full length "Continuum" through Nightmare Records in the U.S. and through Metal Axe Records in Europe. The album featured original drummer Damion Ramirez and Pat Magrath appearing on one song. The band is currently working on their next album.
- Sebastian Maldonado (burritounit) -
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Approved by the Progressive Metal Team
Discography:
Trinity, studio album (2001)
Continuum, studio album (2006)
...
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PROTOTYPE discography
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PROTOTYPE top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
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PROTOTYPE Reviews
Showing last 10 reviews only
Prototype Progressive Metal
Review by
J-Man
Prog Reviewer

When it comes to tying Catalyst down to a single genre tag, it can get a bit challenging. Although I would label Prototype's music as progressive thrash metal if I were asked to describe it, the band bears no resemblance to contemporary acts like Meshuggah, and also sounds quite different from the progressive works of late eighties' Metallica. I get a bit of a nu-metal impression from Prototype's music, and a good portion of Catalyst sounds like a cross between Fates Warning, Disturbed, and Metallica - as a fan of all three of these bands, that's certainly not a bad thing at all, and I really dig the band's aggressive and modern thrash sound combined with a progressive attitude.
While a lot of the music here consists of fairly conventional riffs, abundant time changes and sections with clean guitars add a progressive vibe to the music. A lot of the lighter portions of the album have a jazzy edge (this can be heard in some killer tracks like "Communion", "Gravity Well", or "The Ageless Heart of Memory"), and this diversity adds a nice change of pace to Catalyst's otherwise standard modern thrash sound. It's during these sections that Catalyst really shines, and if I could make one suggestion to Prototype for future releases, it would be to actually expand a bit on the progressive side of their sound - parts of Catalyst do lack memorability, and I think even more variation could help make the album's hour-plus running time here seem a little less daunting.
Although Catalyst may have benefited from a slightly shorter running time, I think Prototype have still cooked up an impressive effort this time around. The band's very modern and progressive take on thrash metal is bound to have a wide appeal within the metal community at large, and it's this transcendent style that makes Catalyst an easy recommendation. While I can't comment on how this chalks up next to the band's prior offerings just yet, I can say that I'm impressed by this very solid and professional album.
Prototype Progressive Metal
Review by
JJLehto
Prog Reviewer

Every instrument, the guitar, bass and especially drumming are all amazing. I was particularly taken with the drumming on this album. The opening song is pretty straightforward thrash and has quite a metal solo in it, however you can also hear the technicality and their is a beautiful slower section in the middle. Perhaps my favorite on the album.
Sea of Tranquility is an acoustic instrumental and another highpoint on the album.
Seed is a great example of awesome guitar riffs, amazing drumming and wonderful composing skills.
Synthespian is another great song that displays the bands technicality and sounds a lot like something Fear Factory would produce. Devotion is another song along these lines, (though without sounding like Fear Factory) and you can hear some of the best drumming on the album.
However, Probe is the weakest song of the album and personally I don't like it. It is just boring and I can barely listen to the vocals. The vocals are another sour point about this album. They are not the worst, but they are certainly not the best. While he has some great moments he has some terrible ones, Devotion is particularly notable. A great song but whenever the vocals kick in I have to really strain to make it through. However, I really like his vocals on Undying, not too over the top. Vocals are the weak point of this album in my opinion, though the technicality and musicianship of these guys is great, and the songs are well built.
For those that can tolerate some heaviness and metal I'd give this album: Four Stars
Prototype Progressive Metal
Review by Ovidiu
