Neuromist - Move Of Thought review
| Band: | Neuromist |
| Album: | Move Of Thought |
| Style: | Progressive death metal |
| Release date: | March 25, 2010 |
| Guest review by: | vezzy |
01. The Sixth Dawn
02. Bizarre
03. Reason Crusade
04. Inner Voids
05. Lost Grip
06. Cortex Tectonics
07. Rebuilt Babylon
Neuromist are an emerging progressive/technical death metal band from Moldova, formed in 2004. This year they have released their first full-length album, Move of Thought.
Their style blends classic technical death with melodic metal, the songs often featuring melodic passages which then shift back to the fierce riffs common at many tech-death bands and well-executed here. You'll find many notable riffs, whether they be more raw, grinding or more complex. There is also a wide array of solos which are somewhat bluesy or jazz-inspired, at times being ambitious and adding to the atmosphere of the music. Overall, it sounds like the fierce riffs and progression of Meshuggah coupled with the disjointed "structures" in the music of Gorguts. But if you want a more interesting comparison, think of Akerfeldt meeting Thorhendal in a club and deciding to start a tech-death band. Some groove elements are also present in the album.
One of the things likely to catch your attention, though, is the highly audible bass which surprisingly doesn't disturb the flow of the guitar and is actually a great addition to the sound while having some prominent technicality and great licks. The drums are also good, adding to the rhythm and aggressiveness of the music. The vocals, however, are disputable. In the opening track "The Sixth Dawn" they sound like weak shouts but later on they become satisfactory, I suppose, but this really isn't a strong point for the album. The clean vocals are odd but actually interesting.
Hard to say which are notable tracks as they all have their own passages, riffs and structure. Whether it be the unpolished and raw "The Sixth Dawn" and "Lost Grip", the build-up to "Bizarre", "Reason Crusade" or the melodic "Inner Voids", "Cortex Tectonics" and the atmospheric final track "Rebuilt Babylon" (its outro being somewhat of a darker version of the famous "Floods" outro solo), it's all worth listening.
In the end, Neuromist are definitely one of the more interesting new bands to come out and if you're a fan of tech-death or bands such as Meshuggah or Atheist, this album is worth getting.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by vezzy | 24.07.2010
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments: 20
Visited by: 155 users
| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089  |
I was working on a review about this excellent album but you beat me to it! One of the best 2010 releases so far, it grows better and better with every spin? Do yourself a favor, and listen to "Rebuilt Babylon", the album closer. It's a bit more melodic than the rest, and quite a masterpiece. The band claims as influences "musicians such as Cynic, Dream Theater, Meshuggah, Death, Spawn Of Possession, King Crimson, Strapping Young Lad, Spiral Architect, Alan Holdsworth and many more". It shows, both on the extreme side and on the jazzy/proggy one. But for a first record it's already quite original. No mere feat. The vocals aren't awesome, but Vladimir Ghilien is really varied (not yet impressively so, but I'm pretty curious to see how he will evolve), but he is not always as confident and powerful as he should be ("The Sixth Dawn") EDIT: Did I mention that the album can be downloaded for free here? Now, you have no excuses!
---- My Author's Blog (in French)  "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493  |
Written by Darkside Momo on 28.07.2010 at 02:24 Haha, yeah! This is some great tech death, beats the new Decrepit Birth by miles.
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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| Daydream Nation Account deleted |
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| seafood Posts: 104  |
"think of Akerfeldt meeting Thorhendal in a club and deciding to start a tech-death band." thats all I need to hear
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493 |
Written by seafood on 29.07.2010 at 00:19 Good to know it.
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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| @gent_-_orange Posts: 905  |
After the first listen i have to say it is very good, Thank you for the recommendation.
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| Got Mayhem? Posts: 767  |
Ok, all I had to read was the second paragraph and I knew this was something I need to hear.
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| Marcus Doit Like Bernie Posts: 642  |
ZOMG AUDIBLE BASS! Sad that hearing an instrument that every metal band has makes these guys special. Pretty solid although i could dig a vocal change.
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493 |
Written by Marcus on 29.07.2010 at 09:19 You don't get it. It's this weird feeling... like the bass was a second guitar (it's kinda supposed to be the foundation, but most of the time it's a half-audible addition). It isn't like "I think I can hear it" or "Hey, it's more audible in this part", it's always roaring but doesn't disrupt anything. I guess you have to listen to the music to get it.
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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| hiddenhallow Posts: 3 |
Hello, guys! I'm extremely pleased regarding your attitude towards the album! It's very flattering, since I play in this band and in fact I've written all of the music presented here. Our bass player will definitely be pleased to hear all these appraisals regarding his playing. He has a jazz background that's why we have always pushed his tone a bit forward. Regarding the parts of the bass guitar, most of your assumptions are right. The way I composed the parts was that the bass had to play more like a second guitar, not just by copying the parts of the rhythm guitar, but to have its own voice in the structure. The way the bass sounds and the parts on some records where it's very audible (think of Cynic's "Focus" and Spiral Architect's "A Sceptic's Universe") were a bit off-putting for me personally because they sometimes seemed to be detached from the whole structure of the music. Moreover, since 2008 we are playing as a four piece band live with only one guitar and the bass has become a very good support in the live sound. Too bad I don't have any live videos to present so that you could understand what I mean. Hope I'm not too pretencious with this post  )Thanks again for loving the music! Kirill
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| Marcus Doit Like Bernie Posts: 642 |
Written by vezzy on 29.07.2010 at 16:22 no that's not what I meant. I listened to the album and recognized that right away. There are tons of great bass grooves and you're right, it is like a second guitar. I just think it's sad almost no other metal bands do this, let alone even have audible bass when it's one of three or four instruments every metal band uses.
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| Daydream Nation Account deleted |
Daydream Nation
Account deleted Written by hiddenhallow on 29.07.2010 at 18:29 You have no idea how much I admire you for making that mature and sophisticated of a debut album. Seriously...this is certainly the best technical death metal album since Gorod's Process of a New Decline, if not Obscura's Cosmogenesis. You honestly deserve $20-$25 dollars for this album (not the free pricetag that you have on your site) because it is extraordinary musicianship, songwriting and effort. I'm trying to find a place in my city that would be willing to order it for me. Congratulations and I can't wait to hear your second effort.
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| hiddenhallow Posts: 3 |
Written by [user id=100467] on 29.07.2010 at 20:49 That's extremely flattering to hear that, thank you! Of course it would be much better to get $10 from a ticket to a live gig in your area Too bad we don't have any suitable live footage of our shows to upload on youtube. And we rarely get an opportunity to play live in general, but believe me, it's a really good experience for those who like our music. The comparisons you draw are also quite flattering to say the least. We'll try to make even better music with our next effort. Hopefully it will be done some time around 2012
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| Derwood Posts: 511  |
Thoroughly enjoy this album and look forward hearing how the band develops. After half a dozen listens, the sonic density of "Bizarre" makes it my favourite track on the album, "Inner Voids" being a close second. I love where the bass is in the mix (biased bass player here) and have to disagree with comments regarding it not forming the foundation. Though note variation is about a thousand times more complex than is common in metal, the bass still lays the rhythmic foundation in conjunction with the drums across the tracks of this album. Pay attention to the interplay of accents, duration, tonality and gaps as opposed the actual notes being played and it's clear that Alex Petriuk understands every aspect of his instrument's role. The weak spot for me are the vocals as well, especially the brief clean sections and the first track; the production doesn't really appear to help them much at all.
---- You can't fight evil with a macaroni duck!
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| Darkside Momo Retired Elite Posts: 9089 |
Written by hiddenhallow on 29.07.2010 at 21:37 Be sure to keep us informed! 
---- My Author's Blog (in French) "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you" "I've lost too many years now I'm stealing back my soul I am awake"
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| hiddenhallow Posts: 3 |
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