Delirium Endeavor - _Twelve Cusp_
(Independent, 2004)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)
Rochester, NY's Delirium Endeavor certainly aren't a prolific trio:
this album is the follow-up to 1998's _Flight of the Imagination_
[CoC #55]. However, the reason for this long release cycle should
become apparent after listening to a few minutes of this album: it's
so jam-packed with riffs that it probably took them several years to
write all of it. This release continues with the sound they displayed
on their debut, which can be described as an instrumental cross between
late '80s German thrash (think Deathrow's _Deception Ignored_) and the
Rush-inspired progrock / metal of Sieges Even's _Steps_. However, this
time they've expanded their sound a little by including some elements
that are reminiscent of mathrock and ambient.Being a three-piece, they have a sparse sound. That said, each of
the musicians does their best to fill up the space by keeping their
parts interesting and not being content to simply sit back and keep up.
Notably, the bass carries the melody often, and the drums often take
the lead while the guitars and bass settle into a repetitive pattern.
Unfortunately, these efforts aren't successful all of the time, and the
sparsity of their sound is sometimes a detriment.The songs vary in length, with three songs around three minutes each,
and longer songs of nine, twelve, and eighteen minutes each. The shorter songs
don't have any distorted guitars at all, but the longer songs are a
mix of heavier and lighter sections. Most of the music is mid-to-fast
paced, but some sections are very slow moving, almost at ambient speed.
The faster sections generally have frequently changing riffs. Very rarely
do the band settle into a groove; usually, they move from one riff and
tempo to another after only a few repetitions. This "ADD approach to
composing" leads to songs that don't flow very smoothly. A related
issue is that although there are many cool riffs, they weren't able to
put everything together into one song that I can really point to as a
good example of what's good about their sound. I'd be happier to see
them write more focused songs, concentrating on their stronger riffs,
and leaving the weaker ones out. It would also mean that I'd get to
hear another disc from them before the end of the decade.Ultimately, this is a good and interesting offering. It's clear that
they put a lot of time and effort into their material, and aren't
interested in compromising their artistic vision for the trends of the
day. Although they're targeting fans of technical metal, this really
doesn't qualify as "technical". However, like Actual Time [CoC #48,
#57], its complexity should appeal to some of those fans.
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