Album Type: Full Length
Date Released:
29/01/2016Label: Apes Who Looked Up
Cetacean
seem like they are still working on discovering their own personal sound and BREACH | SUBMERGE was more
ambitious a project than they were ready for. The band is undoubtedly talented
and Cetacean flash both technical playing and an impressive vocal range from
Benigno, but creatively the band is not there yet
“Breach | Submerge”
CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
Earth is a Whisper
2).
Relationships Deteriorate
3).
Outpour I. II. III.
The Review:
Progressive rock and metal are two genres that
would have always blended together well. While both project an image of nerd
culture both are also incredibly technical and have lots of crossover
techniques such as time signature swaps and grandiose fantastical presentation.
In order for this seemingly obvious formula to be outright successful the
genres need to be integrated seamlessly and the transitions should feel
rational and judicious. On Los Angeles
BREACH | SUBMERGE is a three track record with all
songs eclipsing the ten minute mark. While none of these tracks are necessarily
bad, the tracks struggle to distinguish themselves as well as offer any moments
of innovation or distinction. The three tracks offer trips through doom metal,
prog rock, and rough aggressive vocal patches, but none of these elements are
synced very nicely. Every passage of these songs feels like its own outlier
rather than a sum of the whole. The transitions are clumsy and seem to come at
random. The prog elements are just so miniscule compared to the doom tracks
that it makes the progressive rock elements Cetacean go for seem forced.
These tracks have ten to fourteen minutes of time yet the listener only
experiences two or three changes in tempo. When this is compounded over such
long tracks it only seems self-serving. The songs begin to turn into a bit of a
trudge to get through.
BREACH | SUBMERGE is
a banal record for too much of its extended run time. There are numerous acts
that do many of these styles better individually and in a style that blends
genres. Cetacean
seem like they are still working on discovering their own personal sound and BREACH
| SUBMERGE was more ambitious a project than they were ready
for. The band is undoubtedly talented and Cetacean flash both technical playing and an
impressive vocal range from Trae Malone, but creatively the band is not there yet.
The tracks are too segmented and create a disjointed album with tracks that
seem too sewn together.
