TODO.S LOS COLORES DEL

I admit that I really like it when a band can operate within the confinements of a single genre and make use of the conventional features and aesthetics of that genre and still make something new out of it (like many retro thrash and speed metal bands do these days). However, I also really like it when a band just completely transgresses the boundaries of genre and implements aesthetics and elements from a lot of different genres into their music. This is, along with general derivation from the conventions of popular music, one of the reasons why I like progressive music.

Argentinian act Random fall into the second category, as they completely disregard all genre boundaries within the universe of metal. There is a bit of thrash metal, a bit of djent, a bit of metalcore, a bit of groove metal, a bit of alternative metal, a bit of grunge, a bit of sludge/doom, and a bit of extreme metal as well as hints of industrial metal, noise rock and melancholic indie rock - and they are not afraid of very melodic 'oohs' and 'aahs' either.

A lot of the riffage is crushingly heavy and Random are very good at combining simple, almost grungy riffage with more complex odd metered and rhythmically ambiguous sections, and this juxtraposition of heaviness, simplicity, uptempo-ness, and complexity generates a very dynamic feel to the music, and this dynamism is made even more evident via Random's insertion of clean and mellow passages, as well as more soundscape-like, jazzy, funky, and whatnot sections ('Tururu' is very much epitomic of Random's eclectic brand of modern progressive metal and full of all these changes, passages, moods and feels). Much of the riffage is, in addition to being solid and heavy, also quite groovy, and metalcore fans can look forward to a lot of crushing quality breakdowns - but Random certainly does not rely on breakdowns, they just use them very effectively to general dynamism in their music with tracks like the melancholic almost atmospheric track 'As Far As Possible' and the acoustic 'Cuando el blanco no es color' popping up amongst the heavy tracks.

All tracks are very dynamic in structure, as is the whole album, as Random are obviously skilled songwriters who have very broad backgrounds of inspiration, which shines through in their music. The performance is top notch on all accounts, to, and the production is wonderfully organic (especially the drums) and unpolished, yet it is clear and well-defined.

Progressive metal really seems to be expanding these days, as younger progressive metal artists start drawing on sources of inspiration that do not figure in more traditional progressive metal, and if you like artists like Fair to Midland and White Walls, who are know for their alternative metal-based approach to progressive metal, you are certain to like Random, too.

(review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)