FULL ALBUM STREAM: ELYSIAN’S “WIRES OF CREATION”

We’ve premiered individual songs before, but this is a red-letter day at NCS because today we’re premiering a full-album stream. The album is Wires of Creation (scheduled for release on March 26), and the band is Australia’s Elysian.

We first came across Elysian through one of our EYE-CATCHERS experiments — in which we listen to new music based solely on the appeal of the album art (the Wires cover was then, and still is, very cool). At that time, only one song from the album was available for listening (“Mans Design”), and it was a powerhouse piece of music. Now we’ve heard the whole album, and it fulfills the promise of that first song.

Elysian’s metal is both complex and primal, stylistically diverse and intricate in its composition, yet infused with atmospheric melodies and head-busting grooves. Wires of Creation is a dynamic work that both leads the mind down a labyrinthine path and packs a physical punch. It’s progressively minded melodic death metal that brings to mind an imaginary collaboration between Dark Tranquillity and pre-Harvest Opeth, but with other ingredients in the mix as well.

The band was founded by guitarists Gabriel and Nathan Hutchinson, and their interplay — part throw-down duel and part harmonious collaboration — is a large part of what makes the music so engrossing. They jab in a blur of hard punches, they bring the fiery shred, they spin webs of atmospheric melody. Gabriel is also responsible for keyboard additions that enhance the music with beats of electronica and soaring ambience.

The Hutchinson brothers’ technically demanding and melodically soulful excursions are anchored by a solid rhythm section (bassist Tristan Tait and drummer Jordan Trevan) that’s hardly by-the-book. In addition to charging the music with weight, they add inventive flourishes to the head-spinning nature of the journey.

Vocalist Ben Garner is the final piece of the Elysian puzzle, providing jagged mid-range howls and deep roars.

Wires of Creation will be available for digital download on Monday, March 26, via iTunes and other outlets. The band are looking for a label to provide physical distribution. So, labels, wise the fuck up!

Let Wires of Creation rampage through your neurons. As always, Comments about the music are welcome. To find out more about Elysian, visit them on Facebook.