EMPTY SPACE ORCHESTRA

There are some forum members whose tastes and recommendations are a guarantee, one of them is Assaf (avestin) and since he wrote he suggested this band, I immediately went to their bandcamp and download some of their music. This US band named Empty Space Orchestra, is an instrumental outfit that offers a wonderful blend of styles, such as rock, metal, jazz and even post-rock. The result is great and original music that may please any of us.

"Dark Matters" is a two-song EP that let us know the quality and the particular style of this band. Though it is always better to listen to a full-length album, here I can say I am pleased with this couple of compositions. The first one is entitled "New Breed of Skank", with eight minutes of mind-blowing modern prog. It starts heavy with a combination of metal and psychedelic tones; half a minute later keyboards enter and adds an even more dramatic atmosphere. After a minute with those guitars, I can feel some kind of mid-eastern flavor. Later it changes and some kind of jam appears, with bass and drums playing constantly, while sax, guitars and synths make their craziness. I really love the energy, but I love more that wonderful blend of genres. After three minutes there is a change, some instruments cease while drums and bass never cease, and then a vertiginous structure begins and little by little progresses. After six minutes it notably slows down and seems it is going to end, but no, there are two minutes left in which they give us once again moments full of energy.

The second song is "Sad Panda" with almost ten minutes length. This one does not begin with the previous energy, on the other hand, it has an atmospheric, slow-rhythm start in which guitars make some noise while bass and drums play constantly. Then little by little it is progressing, adding new elements such as saxophone, which produce different nuances and make the song richer. It continues like that, with this mid-tempo rhythm and with those atmospheric and psychedelic moments. After five minutes it slows down, it is like resting, taking a new breath in order to continue the journey, which once again, is being built little by little. After seven minutes there comes a little passage when only drums sound and then vanish, it seems it's the end, but like in the previous track, it reborn and give us a few more, until it actually finishes.

Though this EP does not reach the 20 minutes, and according to my rating policy (which I can change whenever I wish) in which I do not rate with more than 2 stars these kind of releases, this time I will give it three stars without a doubt. I recommend it to you, and then you will understand why I am so positive.

Enjoy it!