AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): A SENSE OF GRAVITY — “ATRAMENT”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Nov 172016
 

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(TheMadIsraeli reviews the new album by A Sense of Gravity which will be released tomorrow — along with our premiere of a full-album stream of the music.)

A Sense Of Gravity, like Khonsu (whose new album was also reviewed here recently), are one of those bands with a sound that is so multifaceted and “all their own”, so ambitious in scope and gripping from beginning to end, that it deserves acclaim. They may very well be one of the most important bands metal has to offer right now.

Atrament is my second album of the year, with this and Khonsu’s The Xun Protectorate being pretty much tied. Between them, my longing for heavy, dynamic, emotionally turbulent musical experiences has been well satisfied. A Sense Of Gravity are looking to the future, rooted in a post-modernist realm where Pain Of Salvation and Dream Theater’s progressive ambition and expression are met with the progressive metalcore stylings of Sikth, Textures, and Protest The Hero. It’s a sound brimming with both sophistication and boundless energy. Continue reading »

A SENSE OF GRAVITY: “TRAVAIL” (A REVIEW AND A FULL ALBUM STREAM)

 Album Reviews, Premieres  4 Responses »
Feb 132014
 

(TheMadIsraeli brings us a review and the premiere of a full-album stream for the debut album by Seattle’s A Sense of Gravity.)

A Sense of Gravity are a terrific band.  Composer and guitarist Brendon Williams has kept in touch with me for the last couple of years, allowing me to hear what they’ve been doing from their demo material onward.  I’ve loved everything he’s ever shared with me, yet I’ve refrained from mentioning them before, mainly because I wanted to see how they turned out. Finally they have completed a full-length.  Travail is brutal, dynamic, and full of twists and turns.  Imagine a cluster-fuck smattering of Meshuggah, Allan Holdsworth, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Scar Symmetry, and Extol, and you have A Sense of Gravity.

This album is diverse, with some songs driven by pneumatic ballet, some driven by pure caustic sprays of speed-powered hellfire, and some delivering pure, undiluted fusion-jam indulgences.  Travail has a great deal of fun contained within it, all while showcasing serious, intelligent musicianship at its core.  The twists and turns are many, producing a sonic labyrinth.  The album almost sounds like metal done by Jazz Fusion guys, as opposed to metal guys with jazz backgrounds, and that turnaround style-incorporation gives the music a unique vibe. Continue reading »