AN NCS PREMIERE: THE UNIVERSE DIVIDE — “DAY 4”

 

(Austin Weber brings us the premiere — and a free download — of a new song by The Universe Divide from Atlanta, Georgia.)

In their heyday, Canvas Solaris were an instrumental act of considerable skill and prowess, taking a death metal, jazz, and prog-infused path of constructing instrumental metal music that was far ahead of its time. It’s been a few years since that group bit the dust in 2011, though the band is writing new material, but that is a long ways away from coming to life.

What people familiar with that group may not know, is that two of its members, guitarist Chris Rushing and bassist Gaël Pirlot, have been crafting a new instrumental metal vision in their latest group, The Universe Divide. The band previously released an impressive EP in 2011 called Dust Settles on the Odontophobes, and they certainly carry over some of the aggressive nature of Canvas Solaris that is missing from a lot of instrumental metal.

 

 

Joining them in their cerebral-minded madness is drummer extraordinaire Danny Ryan. For those unaware, he was the drummer on the first album of technical space metal wunderkinds Gigans, The Order Of The False Eye. Much like his work on that album, he brings a creative flair to his playing often missing in this type of busy, complicated music.

Now that I’ve properly introduced them, it’s time to entice you to their future offerings. The band recently released a pre-production version of a new song, “Day 4”, and are allowing NCS to give it away as a free download. The 6-string fretless bass work of Gael Pirlot adds a mesmerizing punch and counter to the inspired guitar attack of Chris Rushings, who creates fluid, cascading riffs and superb leads on “Day 4”, with the tenacious and precise drumwork of Danny Ryan superbly balancing out their mind-numbing equation.

“Day 4” could easily be the sonic equivalent to one of the days of Creation, a fiercely imaginative work that often made me think of an instrumental version of Beyond Creation. Equal parts densely complex, and boldly beautiful, “Day 4” flows gracefully in spite of its head-spinning nature.

Keep an eye on The Universe Divide. These guys are incredibly progressive and endlessly enjoyable. Also, their two other new songs in demo form can be heard at their site, linked below, if you find yourself intrigued by all “Day 4” has to offer. Their previous EP is included below as well in streaming form.

Download “Day 4” via the Soundcloud player below.

 

http://theuniversedivide.net/2014-demo-preview
https://theuniversedivide1.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Universe-Divide/173016189384087