Band:	Aviations
Album:	Luminaria
Style:	Djent, Progressive metal
Release date:	September 01, 2023
A review by:	musclassia

01. Prelude
02. Cradle
03. Safehouse
04. Legend
05. La Jolla
06. Pinenut
07. Pure
08. Where We've Been
09. Coma
10. Blink

In the sphere of modern prog metal that crosses over into math or djent territory, for lack of a more appealing moniker, it seems to increasingly be the more melodic and heartfelt bands that most capture my attention: the Karmanjakahs, the Woomeras, the Black Orchid Empires, and the Aviations...s.

It’s been a few years since this sextet first appeared on my radar courtesy of sophomore release The Quiet Years, and while 2020’s Retrospect EP offered a pleasant re-envisioning of a couple of songs from 2012’s debut release A Declaration Of Sound, it’s only 5 years after The Quiet Years that Aviations are ready to drop more new material in the form of Luminaria. Thankfully, it’s the kind of rich, intelligently crafted and substantial release that serves as a rewarding payoff for fans after such a wait.

For those uninitiated with Aviations, Luminaria is the kind of album that that makes me ponder the ill-defined genre ‘math metal’ that is thrown together with djent in Metal Storm’s annual awards. The signature djent tone and crunching polyrhythmic riffing style is used with a moderate degree of frequency on Luminaria, but the bright, lush tone of Aviations is perhaps closer to the blissful vibe of modern virtuosos such as Plini or David Maxim Micic. Such artists are categorized as part of the popular modern brand of progressive metal, but while ‘math’ in a metal context most frequently refers to the frenetic mathcore of The Dillinger Escape Plan and co, the regular rhythmic chop-changing and blissful guitar licks of Aviations arguably share more with modern math rock than traditional prog-metal such as Dream Theater or Fates Warning. Despite the generally serene feel of Luminaria, this is a busy and fluid record on a rhythmic level, and it’s something that really suits my taste.

Obviously, founding drummer James Knoerl and more recent addition bassist Werner Erkelens (who has also recently joined Monuments) play a pivotal role in this, but each member of the six plays an important role in making Luminaria so effective. The guitar duo shift seamlessly between dense djent polyrhythms and fanciful guitar leads, and Richard Blumenthal’s piano and string arrangements do a lot for giving the music the warm glow befitting the album title. Capping it all off is Adam Benjamin on vocals, whose evocative cleans at different times remind me of Michael Lessard’s subdued brooding, Corelia-core passion, indie-style hooks and Native Construct-esque mystique, soaring when needed and settling into the mix during the more understated moments; he also has a few screams in his arsenal when the songs call for it.

When looking at highlights of Luminaria, it might be strange to start at the back, but I’m inherently drawn towards the long duo of songs that close the album, “Coma” and “Blink”. Collectively running for over 20 minutes, these tracks encapsulate all the strengths of Aviations, shifting from tender piano balladry, jazzy bass groove, gnarly crunch, triumphant melodicism, exuberant guitar soloing, and even brief frenetic blasting. “Coma” is a bit more earnest, while “Blink” is perhaps a tad more playful, but each runs across a wide range of vibes, and builds towards a stirring climactic sequence. On the more understated end of the spectrum, “Prelude” kicks off Luminaria with hushed acoustics and wordless vocal layers in a way that sends my mind straight to the beginning of Killswitch Engage’s “My Last Serenade”, and “Where We’ve Been” gives Blumenthal’s keys a chance to shine and dictate the tone in a sea of tranquillity before the big finale that is the aforementioned pair of concluding tracks.

The songs that fall between these ends of Luminaria of course have their own virtues too; “Cradle” is rich in vocal and guitar melody, and “Safehouse” follows it up with a complex yet playful and infectious groove while also pushing that djent heaviness midway through. There’s no song that falls beneath the rest (although, given the elaborate nature of the phrases here, not many of them are necessarily immediately hooky), but perhaps the relative degree of aggression found in “Legend” runs slightly contrary to the album’s overall vibe. “Pure”, in contrast, largely refrains from notable distortion, and shines with its warm, textured indie rock vibe reminiscent of Adjy (there's probably better comparisons, but this is the only band I know particularly well in that realm of music), as well as with its delightful climactic guitar solo.

It might seem peculiar given how intricate it is compositionally, but more than anything, Luminaria works on a vibes level; it’s really pleasant to listen to something as charming on a sound level as this, and while it will take several spins to begin to properly familiarize oneself with the specifics of each song, the general pleasure that comes with listening to the record makes it easy to give it that amount of attention.