THEIR DOGS WERE ASTRONAUTS — Chapajuby (review)

THEIR DOGS WERE ASTRONAUTS — Chapajuby album cover EP · 2014 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
siLLy puPPy
CHAPAJUBY is the 2nd studio release by THEIR DOGS WERE ASTRONAUTS in the form of a 27:28 length EP which came out only a few months after their debut full-length. As far as i can tell this is a digital release only but can easily be found on YouTube and the band’s Bandcamp site. Once again this is the work of the two brothers from Austria, Denis (guitar, bass) and Leonard (guitar) Roth who handle all instrumental duties as well as all production and mixing and are only in their late teens.

I was pleasantly surprised by their debut “In Touch” by taking the Animals With Leaders approach of creating progressive instrumental metal that adds a healthy dose of the djent sound as one of the main ingredients. The mix of aggressive and mellow passages really allows the band to create some interesting sounds that are juxtaposed against one another.

CHAPAJUBY (EP) is actually quite another surprise as track one “VII” begins with some kind of Middle Eastern type clean guitar run accompanied by their trademark djent sound riffage. The progressive nature of their compositions are actually quite interesting as they create interesting time signatures and riffs with quirky percussive accompaniments. As with the debut release the melodies reign supreme here and all the musical ideas are designed to serve their master. This one seems to have more clean guitars and less djent at first but all elements present themselves dominantly at different places.

This EP is however a lot more atmospheric and less aggressive than “In Touch”. The guitar playing is extremely melodic, has a slight neoclassical edge but also has a somewhat bluesy approach. I keep thinking Eric Johnson but just when i feel the mellowness has gone on too long some crunchy grungy guitar riffs accompany the clean guitars. While the timbres of the instruments is limited, the way these guys change it up with different ideas including sudden start / stop riffs, weaving of clean guitar and highly distorted and oft inserted weirdness to the mix is pretty cool. I love how the two guitar lines often talk to each other and sound like they’re having a conversation.

While the drums do sound synthesized for the most part, these guys manage to keep it interesting by actually playing the percussion instead of programming it. I actually find this EP a bit more interesting than the full-length debut as the ideas are a bit more varied and the DOGS of experimentation have been let off their leashes. While the overall sound is pretty much the same as the debut LP, this EP gracefully builds upon that release and not only creates more varieties of melodic developments but more varieties of progressive touches and occasional electronic embellishments. Quite enjoyable i say.
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