A New Beginning

Coming from Switzerland, this ten year old band has released its third full length just after a change of drummer back in 2011. The change of drummer has given some great ideas to Appearance Of Nothing that already shows this newfound talent on this release. This record has many changes of pace that are a bit heavy on the listener, but also give a reason to listen to this release. These changes of pace are also the reason I used the word chaotic in my title of this review.

The first song of this album prepares the listener really well to what will follow in this strange release. We hear an industrial introduction quickly followed by heavy guitars and some electronic samples that all calm down by the first minute of the song. The drummer shows his full talent in this first song and I'm sure that anybody that wasn't sure about the change in the line-up will already be convinced. Half through the song, there's a succession of two great guitar solos followed by what sound like some dubstep passage. All of this in six minutes with a very good chorus and you get quite a brilliant song to begin this album.

There are many other changes of pace on this release, like the death metal passage to a more calm and psychedelic one in the second song. The general guiding line is still perceived in what would be easily a chaotic mess if done wrong. Another aspect that makes it chaotic is the presence of two singers with very distinctive voices, with the addition that one of the two vocalists is able to use good growls at the right moments.

The first four songs of this album possess these same qualities and are the main reasons to listen to this album. There's only the piano passage at the nine minute mark of the song "A New Beginning" that seems pasted to the end of the song, but the result is still too good to have been cut, so I understand the decision to keep these last five minutes on the album.

I perceive a clear influence from the "Systematic Chaos" album from Dream Theater in this release. This time around, the apparent chaos helps each song to be more unique and procures a diversifying experience. "Echoes", on the other hand, has too many breaks and is more forgettable than the rest of the album. Nonetheless, "Echoes" possesses many good to great symphonic arrangements and still has some memorable passages. The last song ends the album on a more calm note while having a buildup in the last third of this last track.

Throughout the release, every instrument is well implemented, even the bass instrument has many shining moments and this is quite rare in a progressive band. The two singers complement each other impressively and the production is of the highest standard.

The band is in the end very close to have done a masterpiece, just a little more structure that should have been added to the song "Echoes" would have been enough to make this album a must have for progressive metal fans. As it stands, this release is putting this band on my watch list.