The Contortionist – Exoplanet
Recently a friend of mine, who has been close to me for many years, approached me and asked if I could review this album. Like a good little trained puppy, I humbly declined, due to the fact that I simply do not mix business with friends, because it just never works out. After insisting a second and third time that I review this album, I reluctantly agreed. I advised her that I review my albums fairly and that if it gets a bad review then she couldn’t hold a grudge. She smirked a little and replied, “I am not worried about that one bit, I know you and I know what you like, just give it a spin.”
…and give it a spin I did, and then another, and another, and another, and another until my CD player begged me to stop…which of course fell on deaf ears as I so eagerly and maliciously pressed play again and again until I passed out sitting up with my clothes still on. Okay, that last part might have been a bit of a stretch but it’s warranted when talking about Indianapolis natives, The Contortionist. Taking charge of the “young buck” metal movement, this quintet seeks out some of the finest ingredients the metal community has to offer and cooks it up into a recipe so delicious, you could swear there’s drugs in it.
Their latest album, set for an August 31st release date mixes the low-ended, heavily distorted open chords and pissed off aggression of The Acacia Strain, with the off-tempo polyrhythmic trampling of Meshuggah. Add some Between The Buried And Me, sprinkled so lightly with the jazz-fusion, vocoder ramblings of Cynic, heat to desired temp and serve. Best shared with a friend, Exoplanet is not only good but it’s good for you.
The band wastes no time pulling you straight into the pit by starting the album off with a knock around, throw down, good ‘ol fashioned barn burner entitled “Primal Directive.” Ripping with anger and rage, the guitars are thick and extra chunky while the drums live up to that Meshuggah reputation, keeping the song fresh and interesting. Vocalist, Jonathan Carpenter, sounds phenomenal with a range that can get real guttural, like Vincent from The Acacia Strain, only to shift to a higher part of the spectrum that is often times unexplored in Vince’s repertoire. The band is in your skull killing you from the inside-out when, without warning, they take a quick turn and you are thrust into a melodic barrage of instrumental guitar solos and slow, harmonic chords played over fast paced blast beat drums.
The Contortionist exudes years of experience when they so expertly craft both the brutal and melodic sides of the musical spectrum. The second track, “Flourish,” follows in the footsteps of the album opener. Starting off with an aggressive and guitar driven riff, the song again takes you to the darkest depths of hell only to elevate you to a dreamy atmospheric cloud city. Now don’t get me wrong, the album in no way gets repetitive or dull. There are tracks, such as “Advent” and “Vessel”, that rip all the way through, while songs like “Axiom” sound like they could be featured in a hallmark music collection. The album is diverse and fresh and that’s what makes The Contortionist so great!
Stand out tracks include “Flourish,” “Advent,” and the album closer. For me this is a no brainer; the band can change and contort their sound so much that I understand what I have been missing all these years. If I happened to be losing my faith in metal, The Contortionist just brought me back to the church of ROCK! RIYL: any or all of the aforementioned bands including The Acacia Strain, Meshuggah, Cynic and Between The Buried And Me
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37 Comments
August 23rd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Heard about this band awhile ago and I'm super excited for this release especially after that review.
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August 23rd, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Great review man! Really cool album as well.
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August 23rd, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Gotta check these guys out.
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Gabriel Pio replied:
August 23rd, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Seconded. =)
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Max Grundström replied:
August 26th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Thirded!
.. or wait.
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August 23rd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Yes! Can't wait for this, it's going to be fantastic!
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The Little Bro replied:
August 23rd, 2010 at 6:21 pm
im robby and joeys little brother so i have to deal with this daily
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Brad replied:
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:04 pm
If this statement is true, are you musically amazing too? Haha. And you should get me this fucking album!
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The Little Bro replied:
August 24th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
it is true, i'm not as musically talented, and i dont no you so why would i give you a copy
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Brad replied:
August 25th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Haha, worth a try! Do you play any instruments?
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The Little Bro replied:
August 25th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
drums
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August 23rd, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Cant WAIT for the album! Preordered as early as I could have.
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August 25th, 2010 at 10:21 am
Holy crap. That is all.
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The Little Bro replied:
August 26th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
yeah you got a problem with it
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Tim replied:
August 27th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Why, are you gonna take his lunch money?
And no, my buddy Nate means holy crap as in "Holy crap this is amazing."
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The Little Bro replied:
August 27th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
how do you no my name
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The Little Bro replied:
August 27th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
oh your freinds name is nate never mind
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Brad replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Sup, Little Nate? Hahahahaha.
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August 27th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Currently listening to Primal Directive as we speak.
These guys are awesome so far
Great review, can't wait to hear the rest of this.
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The Little Bro replied:
August 28th, 2010 at 11:04 am
i have the originl copy on my compter
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Brad replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
I've had the whole album for a couple of days now! Suuch a sick album!
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The Little Bro replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
i no they were over at my house practcing
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The Little Bro replied:
September 1st, 2010 at 5:28 pm
when i said i have the original copy on my computer i was kidding i wasnt siereous
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August 31st, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Sounds interesting…….
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September 1st, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Been listening to this the last couple of days and it's honestly one of the most original and well written albums I've heard in a long while. Definitely the best thing I've heard this year, I think everyone who's remotely interested in them should go out an by this album without hesitation.
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September 1st, 2010 at 8:34 pm
This band really reminds me of Periphery. I am digging this emerging style of music. Brutal, yet melodic.
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October 28th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
I finally got a hold of this album earlier this week, and it was definitely everything I was hoping for from all the samples and myspace-posted tracks that I had heard. Great album all the way through. The heavy and the melodic are pretty well balanced, in my opinion. This is what I wished I had gotten from BTBAM instead of The Great Misdirect. The Contortionist seems like they know exactly what they're doing. I can't wait to see them live, that is, if they ever come around Buffalo, NY.
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November 8th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
I know I keep coming back to this album, but you nailed this review, Kevin. This album gets better and better with time. It beats Periphery's debut.
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November 15th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
So, I'm totally in love with this album. It's incredible. I've bought merch.
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November 16th, 2010 at 2:04 am
I have to say, this is one of the best albums of 2010.
Like… a contender for my Top 5. These guys are beyond talented, it's like they aren't even human.
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January 5th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Only recently started seriously listening to this album. I regret not listening to it from the moment I heard about it.
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Edwards replied:
January 5th, 2011 at 7:05 pm
For me it was something I listened to once and was like um..no I hate this. I actually took it off my iPod less than a week after putting it on. Now that I went back after all the hype of people really loving this, I realize I was missing out quite a bit.
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January 22nd, 2011 at 6:40 pm
I can't believe you didn't include the concept of this album. It's awesome.
(quoting from their response to me asking what the concept is)
"The three title tracks describe a human genesis to another planet, which is caught in the middle of a strange and destructive solar event.
The rest of the tracks precede this story- detailing the rise and fall of life on Earth, and communication with a distant race who assist us in space travel."
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Jen replied:
January 22nd, 2011 at 7:48 pm
In his defense, I just looked in the folder and we didn't get any one sheets or additional info on this album, so he had no way of knowing what the concept of the album was.
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January 22nd, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Hmm..
I always thought that the album was about humans trying to create an artificial planet in the distant future.
Like, the beginning of Oscillator:
"A warning to conducting officers of the machine: You are most exposed to the diatomic focused gravity. Stray cosmic rays are threatening our generation biosphere."
I probably am wrong, but I thought that the album was about the planet failing because of some sort of imbalance within nature and the fact that humans aren't perfect and it was bound to fail from the beginning.
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Lee Tran replied:
January 22nd, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Well the description I posted came straight from the band, so I'm going to assume it's right
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October 4th, 2011 at 6:44 am
Saw these boys live Saturday night in Grand Rapids with Periphery, Textures and The Human Abstract. Guess what, they fucking stole the show.
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