SPATIAL/DESIGN

This was the starting point for the evolution of Canvas Solaris as one of the most solid prog-metal references nowadays. Having started as a full frontal thrash metal act, by the time the band began recording it had acquired a particular sense of musical sophistication, with the addition of heavy doses of jazz (mostly on the drum kit department) and prog-metal (the development of complex musical ideas in a pompous fashion). 'Camera Obscura' opens up the album as a storm of pure metal, cleverly wrapped in a scheme of dexterity and angst; still, there is some room for fusion passages (a-la Upper Extremities). 'Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation' preserves a very similar dynamics, this time with some clear flirtations with the standard of 80s King Crimson and Gordian Knot (the heavy side). The third piece happens to be the most "controlled" in its aggressiveness: 'The Non-Terminating Integer' states a powerful combination of thrash, prog-metal and space-rock, with Ginn revealing some Peart influences along the way. 'Dark Matter, Accretion Disc, and Interacting Binary Neutron Star in a Self-Reproducing Inflationary Universe' is the pretentious title of the track that closes down the EP: being a prolongation of the preceding track's spirit with a taste of the energy displayed in tracks 1 & 2, it happens to be an effective recapitulation of the moods and atmospheres of the whole album. If it's true that this item does not reveal the vigorous eclecticism of Canvas Solaris' 2006 & 2007 albums, it is also true that "Spatial/Design" shows hints to that sort of musicality. This is not the recording for the newbie to get started with CS, but it will be rewarding for the converted.