Uneven but striking progressive metal music.
This album is more idiosyncratic and ambitious than most of the stuff that I review. I'm trying to feel out how, exactly, to talk about it. For starters: is it really metal at all? Yes, sometimes someone growls, but the lead vocalist has a pure, intelligible voice that reminds me of emo rock. Ebonivory doesn't easily fit into a genre.
Everyone seems to agree that it is "progressive," whatever that means. When I say "progressive," I mean that it has long, meandering tracks that emphasize flow and structural creativity over melodic tightness. Sometimes there are hooks, but don't get too attached to them, because before too long the music will wander somewhere else. Progressive music can feel liberated and smooth, or it can feel like a big mess.
Ebonivory captures the best and the worst of the progressive tag. (Well, perhaps not the worst. I have definitely heard worse.) "Hanmer Street," "Persist," and "Window Man" have a great, organic flow. They present the listener with lots of delightful surprises, and they left me feeling satisfied. Some of the other tracks, though, don't contain much that is memorable. They meander around, occasionally alight on something interesting, then fade away. Ebonivory's earnest emo-rock vibe can also drift into cheesiness or sonic silliness. "Tales of Termina" feels ridiculous to me. It sounds like processed food.
I'm giving this an album a "1" because of its unevenness, but it's an unusually interesting 1, and I really recommend checking it out. (Just skip the intro track, it's dumb.) The tracks that I called out are engaging and unique.
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