This post was originally published on this site
It’s not often that progressive/technical death metal fans are catered for with a whole touring packing to suit their preferences. Tonight, the Aggressive Progressive Tour arrives in Glasgow, live at Slay. Despite this genre’s perceived lack of accessibility and reputation for senseless tech for tech’s sake, the venue is very well-attended with punters keen to digest three drastically different artist in the subgenre: RIVERS OF NIHIL, CYNIC and BEYOND CREATION.
Quebec, Canada has always been a hotspot for brain-bending progressive and technical death metal, boasting a mighty roster including GORGUTS, CRYPTOPSY, MARTYR, QUO VADIS and AUGURY. Prog tech death metallers BEYOND CREATION are another worthy addition to this list. Distinct from their peers, these Quebecois focus on the progressive side more than the death metal. There’s a plethora of melodies and even emotively-dictated solos peppered among the blastbeats, chugga chugga riffs and technical noodling, especially on their last album Algorythm.
Bassist Hugo Doyon-Karout utilises meaty yet complex basslines that the crystal clear sound emphasises superbly. Growler and guitarist Simon Girard asks the crowd to start a circle pit, but the audience disobeys and continues to stand and watch. However, a second request during closer Ominipresent Perception hits the mark and produces a modest pit. This is a fantastic exhibition of the more melodic side of a typically aggro-driven subgenre.
Rating: 8/10
Progressive death thrash metal legends CYNIC were actually in Glasgow exactly a year ago at Slay, so it’s a real treat to see them return so soon. These Americans begin with Nunc Fluens, driving excitement before launching into Evolutionary Sleeper. While this should be one of the highlights of their show, frontman Paul Masvidal doesn’t sing the vast majority of the song. There’s a concern that this may be an issue for the whole set. Fortunately though, during the next song, In A Multiverse Where Atoms Sing, he deploys his vo-coder vocals effortlessly (along with some taped backing vocals) and continues to sing the rest of the show.
Again, the sound is fantastic and truly invigorates this highly influential spiritually scientific take on progressive metal. Cosmic melodies, esoteric atmospherics and jazz prog acrobatics combine to create something earnest, compelling and other-wordly. It’s PINK FLOYD by Buddhist preachers in lab coats on ayahuasca. Original drummer Sean Reinert and loyal session bassist Sean Malone both sadly passed away in 2020. The music is not the same, but new drummer Matt Lynch bangs the skins in an alternative style that really compliments the style. The setlist is a fair retrospective of CYNIC‘s outstanding discography, including the likes of Infinite Shapes, Integral Birth and the gorgeous instrumental Textures. Masvidal is positioned to the far right of the stage, a visual reminder that CYNIC is more than just himself. Closing with the beloved Space For This, the audience cheers so enthusiastically that you’d think they were headlining. And, indeed, it’s a mystery why they aren’t playing last.
Rating: 8/10
Progressive tech death headliners RIVERS OF NIHIL take the stage decked in matching red shirts and smart black waistcoats. They open with The Sub-Orbital Blues, a single from their yet-to-be-released self-titled album due in May. Guitarist Andy Thomas uses clean vocals on this song, but tonight they sound strained and out of tune, with the higher notes sounding far more raspy than their recorded counterparts. This quartet’s take on this complex death metal isn’t as technical as the two bands before them, but contains dense contemplative and explosive atmospherics. They’re not hyper-aggressive but there are metalcore/deathcore style breakdowns for any hardcore dancers to sink their fangs into. Pitting themselves far from the genre in a way that makes sense when you take this kind of music to its logical extremities is the addition of a saxophonist joining the band on stage for The Silent Life.
The setlist focuses on more songs from the self-titled, including House Of Light and Criminals. The remainder of the show focuses on the second half of their discography, with Where Owls Know My Name and The Work taking centre stage. The likes of A Home, Death is Real and The Void From Which No Sound Escapes excite the fans and light up the venue. As it has been for all of this show, the sound is wonderfully clear and compliments the band’s music sublimely. The Americans’ stage presence is more lively than the previous acts, a benefit awarded to simpler compositions. There’s melodic guitar leads, djent-style chugging a chunky six-string bass and obligatory blastbeats. Aside from the jazzy saxophone, there’s not much progressing the genre here, rather than superimposing various routine prog and death metal passages together side-by-side.
As the performance continues, the songs feel like more of the same, lacking in variety and making each hard to discern from the other much. The venue thins out the closer we get to the end, illustrating that many here are CYNIC fans more so than RIVERS OF NIHIL. Clean ends the show, and frontman and bassist Adam Biggs graciously thanks the energetic Glasgow audience.
Rating: 7/10
Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Glasgow from Duncan McCall here:
Like RIVERS OF NIHIL on Facebook.
The post LIVE REVIEW: Rivers Of Nihil @ Slay, Glasgow appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
