J-Man
Like a lot of self-released material these days, the debut offering from American black metal act Averse Concept really took me by surprise - although Symbol of Loss is only a short EP and seems like typical black metal on a superficial level, even one listening session will reveal that these guys have more unique tricks up their sleeve than one may expect. Whether we're talking about the complex drum fills in “Clouded Recovery” or the quirky riff structure in “Desolate Alleviate”, there are some really interesting things going on throughout Symbol of Loss from a rhythmic perspective that help add a unique feeling to Averse Concept's bleak, post-metal inspired approach to black metal. The polished, yet strongly organic production helps accentuate the band's honest and 'human' sounding music, and the fact that this release is available for a name-your-price download means that any fan of metal on the more esoteric side ought to check it out.