UMUR
"Aykroyd" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Canadian progressive metal act Electro Quarterstaff. The album was released through Willowtip Records in October 2011.
Electro Quarterstaff play an instrumental and extremely technical type of progressive metal on "Aykroyd". While it may seem strange when the music doesn´t vocals and lyrics the band are actually very good at incorporating humour in their music to go along with the cartoonish cover artwork. The humouristic element works like a charm. Always delivered in a tasteful yet wacky manner. The tracks are querky, structurally complex and delivered in a convincing high energy fashion. Electro Quarterstaff features a drummer, a bassist and no less than three guitarists. The team of guitarists compliment each other well throughout the album. Dissonant chords, odd melodies and harmonies which threatens to bend your mind at any time. Backed by the powerful and well playing rythm section, the guitar attack is something out of the ordinary. While there are some mellower moments on the album like the opening track "The Wolf Shall Inherit The Moon", "Aykroyd" is generally a very busy and challenging affair that takes some time to sink in. Upon repeated listens the album reveals quite a few layers though and if you´re up for a challenge it´s definitely an album I can recommend.
We´re talking high level musicianship, a great organic sound production and some pretty intriguing songwriting. I´d say somewhere between a 3.5 to a 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.