AUCKENROSE — Physis (review)

EP · 2011 · Deathcore

3.5/5 · 2011-04-20
Andyman1125

Cognitive Dissonance

Auckenrose is a young Rhody based progressive deathcore act. Phsysis, the band's debut EP, is a tasty mix of progressive metal, deathcore, and jazz-tinged groove metal. The compositions are each interesting, with death and melodic breakdowns spicing up a rather dead (ha, I made a pun) genre. Although the production quality is a bit lacking and the overall atmosphere of the music seems a bit amateur, the debut is a great introduction to this young deathcore act who are sure to pop up on metal radars now and in the future.

Inhale Silence is a mellow opener; it is comprised of some nice clean guitars and quiet drumming. Although this opens the album's theme of unprofessional production (the song has an odd reverb effect that doesn't sound like it was intended), the music is nice and pleasant.

Awakening (Your Truth) opens with a heavy deathcore riff session, with math influenced rhythms and rapid fire guitar chugs. However, this great moment is ruptured by the appearance of a certain flaw in the band's music - the clean vocals. Mostly due to production flaws, the vocal melodies, although nicely harmonizing the music, have a very harsh dissonance to the, alienating the great music behind it. However, the band is able to recover with a great breakdown that slips almost into the sludge department. Overall, the song, musically, is really good. Some really great death passages are contrasted beautifully with melodic passages. However, the main flaw with this song, as I've stated before and will most likely state again, is the production. The mixing and production flaws are glaring, and seriously detract from would most likely be a much better song.

Cognitive Dissonance is the powerhouse track of the EP, opening with a rapid thrash metal riff session and even dipping into some Opethian metal feels. The transition from the heavy thrash death section to the melodic section is a little awkward, but the melodic section does turn out to be a really great piece of music. Utilizing some nice guitar melodies and rhythmic backing, the section is a nice dynamic for the song. Another rather interesting dynamic to this track is the "jazzy" section near the end, showing the band's quirky willingness to experiment with their sound. In the end, the song is definitely the high point of the EP and, even with the production flaws (which are significantly less apparent in this song, other than the awkward bass drum mixing), it is a really great track.

Arachaea is the pure deathcore track on the album, with intense insane riffing and rapid fire gravity-style drum beats, typical to the genre. The short song has no shortness of ferocity, to be sure, and really fleshes out this band's roots.

Exhale Silence is the least "metal" track on the album, with less straightforward deathcore atmospheres and a much more ambient feel to it. Opening very slowly and with a mellow guitar melody leading the way, which eventually leads into a power-chord field day, more reminiscent of a hard punk track than a deathcore track. However different it is from most of the band's material, the song has a nice atmosphere to it, and closes the EP on a more relaxed note than the insanity that preceded it.

ALBUM OVERALL: There are two main aspects that have influenced this rating: 1) the music that is being played, which is quite good, and 2) the production quality of the music, which is quite bad. Of course, the music takes massive priority over the production quality, but the quality of the recording, more akin to a demo than an official EP, needs to be considered. Auckenrose have truly whipped together a great collection of tracks, each with their own set of dynamics and qualities. However, the mixing and production really can't do it justice. Each of the songs also have glaring flaws in quality that alienate the music, most obvious the watery mess the bass drum sounds like. Overall, however, the EP is good, and, with more careful analysis of the production value, the band's future material shows great promise. 3+ stars.