Mind Equals Blown

Structures, a currently unsigned band that may have not been on many people’s radar (mine included), are a five piece, progressive metal band out of Toronto, Ontario.  Their EP entitled, All of the Above, dropped April 6^th, and I personally wish I’d known much sooner.

The EP is somewhat short, totaling 5 tracks with an elapsed time of about 19 minutes.  Nevertheless, it is plenty of time for Structures to introduce their talents to the world.  Full of fitting breakdowns and insane chromatic riffs one might find All of the Above to be in an IWRESTLEDABEARONCE fashion, although the instrumentation remains very tight throughout.  There is plenty of impressive off-beat drumming that would leave many listeners both confused and amazed. And while there always seems to be a lot going on within the tracks, it never seems to be too overbearing.  Structures make great use of dissonance, harmonize guitars well, sweep pick flawlessly, and even have some gang vocals for those who enjoy them.  Front man, Nick Xourfas, has a great, powerful, scream that may only be lacking some range, as there is a lack of highs on the album.

My favorite track from the EP is the first, “Departure.”  It sounds as if it’s meant to be a track for the band to first appear at live performances. It starts out with simple riffs to get people moving, then becomes more and more intricate as it progresses.  The repeated dissonant riff is a good lead into the next palm-muted, crawling one.  When the vocals kick in, the tension feels as if it’s released, and there are ambient riffs that carry on above palm-muted chugs that evolve into harmonies.  The instrumental bridge is great, and is followed by an awesome drum fill into my favorite part of the album, a breakdown with bends, interesting timing, and triplet chugs.  You can listen to the track without noticing the next track has begun, which I find ironic since it has been dubbed “Transitions.”

As far as things I dislike about the album, they are few and far between.  To be honest, the only bone I have to pick, other than the fact that the album is not a full length, is their lack of transitions in certain spots.  I suppose that this can be written off as progressive, since just about anything can be.  A good example of this is prevalent in the track “In Pursuit of…”  There are several sections that seem as if they are just thrown together, but I’ll agree that it certainly keeps things exciting.

Structures is a band I’ll be following much more closely in the future.  I’m really impressed and glad to have been presented their music.  Unfortunately, the majority of their scheduled dates for the summer are either in the west or in Canada, so I’ll have to hold off a bit to see them live.  Even so, I’m expecting big things from them.  I strongly recommend giving the album a listen.

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