Modified Drugs (John Lopez, Travis Richter from FFTL and The Human Abstract) have released their 2013 mix. View a message from the band below and exclusively stream the mix as well
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Travis Richter is an American musician, music producer, dubstep producer and vocalist. He is known for being the original vocalist and guitarist of From First to Last, and the current guitarist and lead vocalist of The Color of Violence and the lead vocalist for The Human Abstract. He is also a music producer and produces dubstep with ModifiedNoise.
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Instrumental bands; they are an uncommon commodity. Sometimes you find yourself simply wanting to jam out to some metal that doesn’t have vocals. Luckily that’s where bands such as Intervals come in. Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the four piece of Aaron Marshall and Lukas Guyader on guitars, Anup Sastry on drums, and Matt De Luca on bass compose the Progressive Metal band Intervals. With an EP already under their name titled The Space Between comes their newest release ‘In Time’.
The album begins with the song “Alchemy”, a spacey futuristic sounding opening, soon after accompanied by their signature guitar, bass, and drum work. Right away you can hear a difference in guitar tone from the previous EP. The tones they’re using on guitar sounds crunchier and more gritty, a more modern ‘djenty’ tone. Fitting for the band’s sound, however it doesn’t do much too much to make the band sound unique. What they do to stand out however revolves around their instrumental work coming together.
Songs like “Mata Hari” featuring a complex rhythm and also a complimenting lead, with instances that are fast and give off that typical djent sound we’ve all known to love; then smoothly flowing into that spacey sound again. This time with the lead guitar almost bringing you on a journey. The prog-metal elements are definitely seen in the lead guitar, with beautiful riffs tying together their songs. That’s not to say that the bass doesn’t contribute to their songs. I’m happy to hear a band that has their bass guitar actually mixed to audible levels. A good bass tone always ties songs together well, and Intervals are no exception to that rule.
Intervals, thankfully aren’t the type of band to rely on repetitive chugging to hold their songs together and to fill up the space with something unnecessary. Don’t expect anything on the level of Animals as Leaders however, Intervals have gone with a different approach to the instrumental metal genre. Songs such as “Momento” actually seem to have taken inspiration from bands such as Monuments, utilizing a palm muting technique to get what sounds reminiscent of their song The Uncollective. The style in which they use it accompany that dream like flow they have with their leads. There is also a beautiful clean sounding verse on the final song of the EP “Epiphany” that I honestly would have loved to hear more of. Not necessarily in that same track, but in another track or two to extend the EP a bit. It adds character to their work.
I’m disappointed in the length of this release however. Though it is slightly longer than their previous EP, In Time at 22 minutes feels short to me. It starts, and then it ends. The other side of that coin however is that if they were to include more it would have just felt like filler, just something to extend the life of the album without adding anything significant. Now I’m sure there are many people out there wishing that the band would have a vocalist, and I believe it would be unnecessary.
The lead guitar while staying lead, already takes on the role that vocals would effectively enough. Intervals have definitely cemented their place among other instrumental metal bands, and I anticipate hearing more from them in the future, so long as they’re able to keep it fresh and change it up. Make sure to pick up their EP when it drops on October 30, 2012.
- Christian
Let’s see what everyone’s been listening to this week. Do you have any good recommendations for us?
Jordan
I saw the vocalist of this band filling for in Travis Richter after he departed The Human Abstract (RIP) last year. They are quite possibly the most talented and underrated unsigned band out there.
Periphery
Like most people, I didn’t care for this band until they put out their Icarus Lives EP. So excited to see this band on Monday.
Strychnia
They’re on hiatus now but had a strong debut for being unsigned. You can hear their entire full-length album for free by clicking here
Chiodos
While not exactly underrated, Bone Palace Ballet: Grand Coda has been dominating my playlist.
Christian
Great experimental death metal band, their album The Weight of Oceans is filled with great riffs and great vocals. Each song lasts past the 4 minute range, but doesn’t overstay its welcome. There is a lot of variety in their album, from cleaner, calmer sections, to some great heavier parts accompanied by equally great screaming.
An experimental metal band; similar to In Mourning. Their self-titled is an incredibly full album. Great use of cleans and harmonies. Also makes great use of variety in their album, excellent lead guitarist. They are a band that will appeal to a variety of people.
To mix things up: Polar Bear Club. They’re a wonderful modern day punk band. There is not much to say about them, other than listen to them.
Canadian band Structures, just an incredibly crazy band. I have listened to their latest release Divided By, nearly daily. The production is a bit too high, but they do work with their 7 String Guitars. The screamer is no slouch either, and the clean vocals thrown in compliment their songs so well. They are a very talented group of kids.
I recently caught them on their tour with LetLive and At The Skylines. I’ve been a fan of these guys for a very long time now, and they do not disappoint with their latest release; A Flash Flood of Colour. As the front-man Rou said it at the beginning of their almost two hour long set “Abusing music genres worthless boundaries since 2003”. What he says is true, they do abuse the boundaries, yet they do it with sophistication and class. I urge every band that wants to use dubstep in their music to take notes, because this is how you do it.
Wonderful post-rock/ambient band. I reviewed their newest release, so I should not need to explain why people should listen to them. Just Do It.
And finally, Wolves. A technical metal band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Energetic and angry; it’s just so beautiful. Head to their facebook page to get a free download of their EP “Dying”.
Note: If any band members would like to participate in our guest spot for recommendations on Fridays, feel free to hit one of us up for an open spot.