The Body Cosmic

I've never had an album completely shatter my expectations like this. I thought this would be something like old Opeth and Ne Obliviscaris when I first played this album (because Dan Presland is on it). But what I got was not just that; it was way more than this, and it completely reshaped how I think about extreme metal and how it could recontextualize its delivery.

Iapetus is a progressive melodeath band from Long Island, New York (the same city Suffocation hails from). They were a little-known name when this album came out, with only Dan Presland of Ne Obliviscaris fame giving them some credibility with their music. But do not let this fool you; their music here is the definition of maximalist, progressive, and creative within the realm of death metal. Ranging from the unusual song structures, the endless blasting sections accompanied by a wall of sound, and the liberal use of clean vocals, samples, and negative space, Iapetus truly reinvented the wheel for progressive death metal and made us rethink what progressive death metal can really do.

While the album begins with typical death metal riffing and drumwork like many other albums, it is quickly made apparent that there is more to this album than meets the ear. The unusually comforting sounds of the instruments, along with the use of space-themed samples, make it clear that this will not be like other progressive death metal albums. It intends to bring you on a cosmic journey made of sound, befitting its name, The Body Cosmic. While it is extreme, it never feels aggressive, which is a feat rarely done by most progressive extreme metal bands since they often have leftover aggression or menace within their sound when they go for a more proggy sound. Instead, the sound is replaced by an oddly inquisitive sense of cosmic envelopment; it feels like you are on a journey throughout the album.

Another element of the album that is distinct from other progressive albums is that while they have quieter sections like prog albums, what makes TBC different is that the silence often takes away all the metal instruments, leaving only the keyboards and acoustic guitar. The heavy reliance of this element might sound like a detriment at first, but believe my words: it is indeed a brilliant decision, as it serves as a fitting breather for the grandiose wall of sound that immediately came before it. It makes the music so diverse and makes it stand out more amongst the sea of progressive death metal bands that try to copy Opeth's sound. So the fact that this band chose their own path makes them more commendable.

Regarding the songs, the album is a 70-minute journey, and it has only nine songs, which is an oddly low amount of songs for an album this long. But the songs are split between main songs that are often over 9 minutes and interludes that are between 2 and 5 minutes. The main songs and interludes often interconnect with each other like a Siamese twin song. This songwriting approach reminds me of Deafheaven's Sunbather, but Iapetus took it one step further as the first four songs are connected like a long 28-minute song. After that, the main songs and the interludes had a definitive enough intro and ending that they felt like separate songs. While this approach is fairly common for progressive bands due to the liberal spam of concept albums, this one felt fairly unique in that it never felt like it was bogged down by the need to be a concept album where all the songs are connected together, and instead all the songs just happened to be crafted in a way that accommodated the connection with other songs.

I think Dan Presland is what made most people give this album a chance, but do not let that fact make you ignore that the album is more than just the unrelenting drums. The drums are indeed some of the most extreme drumming I have heard; it is nothing but relentless and precise blast beats for the entire album, saving for the aforementioned interludes and quiet reprieves that I mentioned earlier, but despite that, the songwriting duo of Iapetus managed to arrange the drums in a way that makes the drumming sound oddly calming for the listener, to the point that the chaotic sections of the albums are the ones when the drums aren't doing blast beats non stop. For the guitars, the riffs, solos, and even the acoustic guitars sounded phenomenal; they really gave the album its identity as a maximalist feast of sound. While the samples and keyboards do not accomplish much in the main songs, they are the backbone for the interludes; they serve to calm down the listener and give them room to breathe after all the wall of sound that they experienced earlier. For the bass, while it is pretty subdued, you can still feel its presence. The fact that the bass can still be felt beneath the maximalist wall of sound is impressive, as this is something bands like Bal-Sagoth failed to do when they had a less grandiose sound than this album. The production is nothing short of brilliant, with it managing to balance all the instruments, vocals, and samples on a fine line without compromising any of those elements.

The album might be my AOTY for 2019 if it weren't for the fact that When A Shadow... was what I related to more, but I can say that this is the album that defines the evolution of extreme metal in the 2010s. It manages to be extreme metal without being too aggressive to the listener and sound acceptable to non-metalheads. Iapetus manages to create an album that does not just encapsulate the best of progressive extreme metal but also redefines it, showing the world what the genre is capable of.

Highlights: Everything

Iapetus is an extreme metal studio project from Long Island, New York, brainchild of Matthew Cerami (guitar, vocals, bass) and Jordan Navarro (guitars, keys, programming). On the 9th of November their second studio effort will see the light of day, a 70 minute long colossus of extreme technicality, complex songwriting and out of this world melodies. “The Body Cosmic” is a concept album of epic proportions, exploring “the life cycles of the Universe, its human inhabitants and the indelible connection between the two”. Any way you look at it, that is not a usual concept, nor is this in any way an ordinary piece of music. It is undoubtedly the best offering of extreme metal that I have heard this year. Joining the two brains behind this project is no other than the god of blast beats himself, Dan Presland from Ne Obliviscaris who is undoubtedly one of my favorite drummers of all time and a more than important figure in the progressive metal scene! Given his participation, I knew this is an album I simply have to hear and now that I did, I can’t regret it for a second!

On every aspect of a technical death or extreme metal spectrum, “The Body Cosmic” scores big. It is insanely technical and challenging, properly heavy and really creative. I doubt it should be necessary to mention that this album contains some of the most extreme drumming possible. What I find most surprising about Dan Presland is not only the unbelievable speed that he can push his performance to but also the endurance and precision that he can maintain throughout. The very first song of the album is a 10 minute epic and from the first second until nearly half way those kicks just keep on grinding like they’re driven by a machine. Ridiculously fast and flawlessly precise. But it’s not just that. He is very creative and he can throw in detailed cymbal work and perfectly placed accents while maintaining the ongoing onslaught. Plus when the music tunes down, he can all of a sudden completely shift gears and deliver some incredible grooves that perfectly fit the vibe and pace of the song. I’m also starting to obsess about the way he can support a gradual build-up by filling in more and more details over a certain pattern and increasing the intensity, and that is something you will hear a lot on this album. And to be honest, he is the perfect fit for “The Body Cosmic” because everything else is on the same level.

Enough about drums though. As much as I’d love the jaw-dropping performance, this album is actually more music than extreme metal, if that makes sense. From the beginning you’re assaulted by a massive wall of sound with impactful riffing and punch but it doesn’t take long to notice the genuinely beautiful, haunting melody that comes along with it. There’s an entire structure of layered tremolo picking guitars, harmonizing and it’s just an absolute treat to try to follow and keep track of where each one is going and how they complement each other in an impeccably puzzled soundscape. The bass is prominently in the background but every now and then it just springs forward and joins the intertwining of melodies. If given enough time to sink in, you’ll notice that despite the extremity, this album sounds peaceful and calming. And I don’t mean the acoustic parts. I’ll get to those. But even when the blast beat is constantly grinding in your ears, those soaring melodies just hypnotize you and carry you away. It’s “close your eyes and drift away” sort of material. And I’d strongly recommend you listen to it in headphones to really be able to tell all the different elements apart and notice how they’re pieced together. And at some point the thick wall of sound clears out…

Now we get to the second component of this album’s sound, which is heavily relying on silence. The driven guitars disappear. The grinding stops and the acoustic elements take hold. There’s so much acoustic guitar, there’s piano, clean guitar with lots of delay and incredibly clever samples to support these instruments and properly immerse you into the atmosphere. And it may be calming but it’s so much more than that. Every time they tune down they do it in a different way. Sometimes it’s really slow and silent. Other times it’s more upbeat and playful. The drums or some fantastic percussion effects may join in and add more color to it. Ironically, despite my ridiculous affinity for technical death metal, one of my favourite pieces in this musical journey was the 0% metal “Hadean Heart”. That song evolves and builds so beautifully, adding layers of acoustic, clean and solo guitar with keyboard, percussion and backing vocal effects. I honestly feel it could be represented visually in a kaleidoscope of colors and effects. It’s just so alive and vibrant and constantly building up energy. In these soft and really melodic interludes, the bass also springs to life in an incredible way and adds so much dynamic.

This album is extreme but it is not aggressive. The only element that I actually perceive as aggressive is the screaming, and that’s loaded with catharsis! But it’s not a dominant element in their sound. There are also a lot of clean vocals and lengthy instrumental passages. In the 10 minute opener there are hardly any vocals. And that doesn’t make it boring because the music is so full that it often doesn’t leave room for it. The word that would actually describe the feel of this album most accurately is actually in the title. It feels cosmic! From the use of silence, to the sheer size of this thing and the incredible concept, it seems to always drift into a deep space sort of imagery. The spoken word recordings in the “The Body Cosmic”, “The Star of Collapse” and “Angelus Novus” also contribute to that impression giving a “distant transmission” sense, though it was a bit difficult to understand what is actually being said. I do hope the lyrics will be available at some point so I can really get the full experience.

There really is too much to say about this album. I know for sure there’s still a lot to uncover if I keep listening to it. I didn’t even get into the guitar solos! See those for yourself! Fantastic blend of technicality, melody and emotion. But no matter how much I’d try to dig into the different directions and layers, there’s no way you’ll understand what it’s about unless you experience it yourself. I know it’s 70 minutes but trust me, no matter how busy you are, it’s more than worth trying to clear out that time window and just dive into it. It’s meditative, contemplative, epic and it feels aimed to stir some surreal things inside you. It fixes my vibe. I honestly don’t know how else to put it! But it’s not just something you enjoy. It has a deeply positive effect on you. I guess a good summary of what it’s trying to say is the line "For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love", quote from Carl Sagan that shows up at the end of “Galaxy Collective”. That’s a really deep moment. So yeah, there you have it:  ridiculously long songs, insane technicality, diverse and original songwriting and an incredibly advanced form of expression. Think you have what it takes to handle it? Try and find out!

Originally written for The Metal Observer.