LASCAILLE'S SHROUD

While "Interval 01: Parallel Infinities - The Inner Universe (2013)" was a long album featuring long tracks, "Interval 02: Parallel Infinities - The Abscinded Universe" takes that concept even further. With it's approximately 2 hours playing time it's safe to say that it's a massive release by Lascaille's Shroud. Out of the 10 tracks on the album there are several that exceed the 10 minutes mark and two ther exceed the 20 minutes mark. While that's a lot to take in if you opt to listen to the album in one run, there is good variation to be found on the album and the entertainment level seldom drops during the album's playing time.

The material are generally well performed and for the most part well written (there are too many unremarkable filler riffs and sections, but when Lascaille's Shroud shine, they shine brightly). Stylistically the music is sci-fi themed progressive death metal, featuring complex song structures and a generally adventurous approach to writing music. The vocals are predominantly intelligible growling and more snarling type growling, but some of the guest vocalists perform raw thrash type male vocals, clean male vocals, and clean female vocals too. Keyboards/synths are still a major part of the soundscape, although I generally think they are toned down a bit compared to how they sounded on the predecessor.

I had an issue with the programmed drums and the sound production on "Interval 01: Parallel Infinities - The Inner Universe (2013)" and unfortunately I have the same issue regarding "Interval 02: Parallel Infinities - The Abscinded Universe". Some drum parts actually work pretty well, which is especially true when the guitar plays tremolo picked riffs. That's when you can nearly forget, that the drums are programmed, but as soon as the pace is lowered or even worse when more rythmic thrashy riffing is introduced, it becomes apparent, in the bad way, that the drums are programmed. Some of those parts sound downright amaturish. There are some parts where I have a feeling that the guitars/bass and the drums are out of synch and as a consequence those parts sound untight. It's pretty odd when it happens, because as mentioned above the material are generally well played/sung.

The sound production is slightly more dark than the case was on the predecessor, which is a plus in my book, but unfortunately the issue regarding the dynamics of the production hasn't been solved. As a consequence the mix sounds a bit flat and undefined. Everything sounds like it's delivered on the same volume all the way through the album and it makes for a somewhat unengaging listen. There is no doubt that a producer who could guide, create a dynamic mix, and cut some of the filler sections, could work wonders. Add to that a human drummer and Lascaille's Shroud would be among the most interesting progressive death metal acts out there. As it is now I am stretching with a 3.5 star (70%) rating, but I do feel that the band's adventurous songwriting approach should be rewarded, and while my criticism may seem hard, it hopefully doesn't completely disguise the fact that I actually appreciate a lot of what I hear on "Interval 02: Parallel Infinities - The Abscinded Universe". The issues need to be adressed though for the project to move on to the next stage.

The music on the album is sci-fi themed progressive extreme metal. I label this extreme metal because even though there are elements from both death and black metal, this is really neither. The song structures are unconventional and quite surprising at times, but as a consequence some of the tracks also feel a bit fragmented. Several of the tracks exceed the 10 minutes mark and with many changes and different sections in the tracks, "Interval 01: Parallel Infinities - The Inner Universe" is an album that takes time to get into. Add to that the fact that "Interval 01: Parallel Infinities - The Inner Universe" is a concept album and that there are elements from all sorts of metal styles like progressive metal, power metal, avantgarde metal, death metal, black metal and symphonic metal on the album and you're pretty surely in for a challenging sonic experience. The addition of guest vocalist Patrick Hoyt Parris is a brilliant move and one of the great assets of the album. His clean and rusty screaming type vocals provide a completely different atmosphere to the growling and aggressive vocals delivered by Brett Windnagle.

The music features quite a lot of synths/keyboards which provide it with an epic atmosphere and they are central elements in the band's sound. Lascaille's Shroud generally produce a huge wall of sound and if you enjoy your music basic and to the point, you should look elsewhere. The album doesn't sound fully professionally produced to my ears but all instruments and vocals are clear in the mix. The programmed drums do sound a bit artificial though and after a while the digital nature of the drumming does result in the music sounding a bit static. There's simply not the drive in the music that a human drummer can produce.

"Interval 01: Parallel Infinities - The Inner Universe" features 7 tracks and a full playing time of 72:55 minutes, which makes for a very long listening experience and as mentioned above, several of the tracks are really long. It's a lot to take in and even though Lascaille's Shroud understand the importance of variation, some tracks do feel too long and could probably have prospered from being cut down to the essentials. So upon conclusion I'm a bit biased towards "Interval 01: Parallel Infinities - The Inner Universe". In many ways is a greatly adventurous and charmingly bold one-man project release, but there are features like the programmed drums, the sound production (which is actually decent and only a minor issue) and the fact that the tracks too often overstay their welcome, that result in the album being a mixed bag. Interesting but flawed. Still a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.