Liste des groupes Metal Progressif The Contortionist Exoplanet

The Contortionist is a band for deathcore fans that are tired of the traditional deathcore sound put out by Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, and Carnifex. There have been some other somewhat “progressive” deathcore bands that have been rising out of the crypts like Winds of Plague, Born of Osiris, and Veil of Maya; but none have been nearly as progressive and experimental as The Contortionist. If you think that these guys have always been progressive, listen to their earlier demos and EPs because they sound like pure deathcore. Even though I was especially impressed by their Apparition EP, their debut full length Exoplanet proves to be far more impressive and mature. Don’t get me wrong, deathcore can sound extremely mature, but it can also sound kind of premature, especially when it’s compared to a band’s latter release that has more of a practiced and confident sound.

Of course anyone can listen to this album and hear deathcore. But there are tons of other recognizable and unrecognizable sounds that The Contortionist decide to throw in. For some reason I keep hearing Oceano peeking their head out here and there. What I mean by that is that some of the breakdowns have that really spooky mystical sound where there’s no muting of the guitars and a slow ambient lead guitar riff perfectly laid on top. Probably the most unique thing about this record is that there are soft progressive rock sounds with singing. Depending on how you look at it, it kind of seems like the modernized-deathcore version of Opeth.

Most of the songs give off the same vibe. The bad part about that is that…well…it shows a slight lack of creativity (although not always). The good part about that is that the vibe those songs give out is amazing and never gets old! When I saw these guys open for Periphery, the crowd was absolutely nuts with me right in the middle of all the action that was going on (primarily in the pit). Watching them perform a flawless 20-minute set with my own eyes and ears proved to me that they truly have what it takes to become huge.

Although I have them listed in my library as “progressive death”, I never use that description when verbally describing them to someone else. I always describe them as “progressive deathcore.” And I know that a lot of you don’t give a crap about all the different genres and whatnot; and be aware that I’m not someone that thinks less of a band if they don’t stay within the walls of a certain genre. I prefer that rather than completely stepping outside the walls of a genre, that bands push and further expand the realms of a genre like The Contortionist has done.

I’m not going to spend too much time describing individual songs because I’m sure to unintentionally leave something out if I do. If Opeth went deathcore, this is most likely what they would sound like. And I would be sad if Opeth did, because they’re perfect where they are; but I’m very glad that finally there is a band that is doing this! Not only is The Contortionist the most experimental and progressive deathcore band out there, they do the best job at it too. I have my physical copy of this album coming in the mail as we speak. Hopefully you can say that too sometime in the very near future. I would give this album 17/20.

For starters I'm not a deathcore fan by any means, I like the odd bands like Born of Osiris but to be honest I find most of it bland, uninspired, boring, and just simply pretentious. Although despite all of this I occasionally find the odd gem. The Contortionist are one of these bands. Although they are affiliated with the much maligned deathcore scene The Contortionist sound leagues ahead of most of the scene. For starters they have a heavy progressive influence incorporated into their sound. Although most people would scoff at the idea of intelligent and forward thinking deathcore, The Contortionist pull it off really well. The progressive elements are what make this album what it is; a masterpiece.

The Contortionist cannot simply be labelled as just deathcore they incorporate a variety of elements into their sound just as post-rock. At times in the album it actually sounds like a sludge metal/post-rock band had a go at playing deathcore. This gives the album a very unique feel to it and it certainly makes it more enjoyable. Although the contrast between "dark" and "light" can get a bit formulaic the calm bits are so brilliantly done that I don't care if it's a little predictable.

The riffs aren't what one would expect from deathcore, for starters a lot of the music is composed of djent riffs. Now the djent sound is something I've grown really fond of over time and I couldn't wait to hear how The Contortionist pulled it off. Fortunately my expectations we're met and possible surpassed as The Contortionist match the standard of djent bands such as Periphery and Textures. Also the riffs are surprisingly technical, "Flourish" is a full blown technical metal song that features some of the best riffs on the album. The breakdowns, now for the most part I simply can't stand breakdowns I often find that they wreck what momentum the song had going from it. However The Contortionist are one of the only bands that can not only pull off breakdowns but actually make them interesting and brutal. I also like the fact that the breakdowns are quite scarce within the album, this keeps the flow of the songs going and stops the momentum from being killed off.

The vocals are very good. The vocalist uses a very good growl and a very aggressive high pitched scream. I also really like the absence of pig squeals. Although I have nothing particularly against this vocal style I find that very few bands can actually pull it off. Heinous Killings and Aborted are some of the only bands that can. Aside from the harsh vocals utilized some clean vocals are interwoven in the mix. Now for the most part I don't particularly like clean vocals at all I think that pretty much a lot of clean vocals in metal don't sound right at all. They either sound whiny and pretentious or are just simply horrendous. The only bands (in my opinion) that can pull off clean vocals are power metal acts such as Sonata Arctica and Blind Guardian, female fronted bands such as Nightwish and Leave's eyes and post-metal/metalgaze bands such as Alcest and Falloch. Fortunately The Contortionist are able to pull if off and they actually sound really good.

The bass was fairly inaudible under the mix and to be honest I really wasn't paying much attention to it. Drums are quite good actually, they have a very competent drummer who throws in some nice techniques in there. I was particularly impressed by the lyrical content present on this album. Unlike the whole "personal problems" theme that dominates much of the metalcore and deathcore scene, The Contortionist uses science fiction themes akin to The Faceless and Rings of Saturn. Although lyrics aren't necessarily the most important aspect of an album I found them to be quite intelligent, well written and really refreshing.

So in conclusion if you're looking for some forward thinking deathcore that isn't afraid to break past the norm then The Contortionist is for you. Though I'm sure many metal heads will pass this band by, due to their affiliation with the deathcore scene I urge any open minded metal head to listen to this album as it proves that deathcore can actually be unique, original and thoroughly enjoyable. This is hands down the best core album I've ever listened to and is one of the best albums in general, I've listened to(Sacramentum wins the award for my best album with Far Away from the Sun). I'd also like to point out that the cover art is absolutely brilliant and is just as good as the artwork for Augury's debut album Concealed(brilliant album by the way).