Divide Et Impera

One thing I've always admired about Constricted is how they managed to make their music so fluent and concordant with the vocals, along with the precision of the riffs and how eloquent the progression of the music is. This is exemplified right from the first track, with a very technical riff and the evolution of a verse-chorus structure which explodes into an epic middle section that Constricted have become renowned for. This time around though, there seems to be even more passion put into the lead guitars, and there is a heavier focus on the heaviness of the riffs here, with a crunchy tone and a very full-on sound with double-bass rhythms and chugging. The vocals are interesting in that they alternate between distorted fry vocals and lower, more coherent singing, and this is related to the changing effect of the dynamics of the music, proving that these tracks were written with the sonorities as a collective in mind, rather than trying to show how amazing the guitars are, or how technical the drumming is, while neglecting the actual quality of the music.

The aggressive, loud atmosphere sometimes gives way to a more graceful, controlled approach that gives the EP variety, and while I personally would have liked to see the band flesh this idea out more, I also appreciate that they don't resort to meandering, overlong clean sections that end up taking away more from the music than it adds to it. Despite the streamlined, traditional style of progressive metal that the band projects, you can also hear quite diverse twists in the music, such as the grungy influence present in Third Generation, and throughout the entire EP is an undertone of groove metal in the vein of Lamb of God and Machine Head, which is also fitting given the vocal style. Overall, while I enjoy this slightly less than Constricted's excellent demo, Divide Et Impera is an EP that is full of emotional, cohesion and a very distinct and memorable sound.