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I cannot even begin to tell you how excited this EP makes me. Sometimes, you
find a band that perfectly mixes together some of your favorite elements:
some of your favorite pieces of the prog puzzle. I first listened to this
Massachusetts-based band late in 2012, and this EP immediately knocked other
2012 albums off of my top 10 list for the year! They have everything I
love: melancholy atmospheres, spectacular (and tasteful) metal portions, emotive lyrics
and vox, a wonderfully deep concept, and melody melody melody!
The Deadstation is a very unique band. This first episode in their pseudo-television series is melodic, heavy at points, well-paced, and very dark overall. It deals with the theme of drowning in society, of becoming a faceless nobody, and of realizing in desperation the need to escape. The quality of this EP is outstanding! The vocals are slightly high-pitched, and just perfect for the music. The drums are heavy when they need to be, always tight, always just right. The guitar work is excellent overall, and reminds me of Riverside's high-tuned guitars without the extend pedal. The bass lines are very well done; and last, but not least, the keyboards cut through the darkness to provide some of the most beautiful keys of 2012. They are truly sensational!The Deadstation's influences are quite apparent all throughout this EP. You will notice a substantial amount of Riverside and Porcupine Tree, experimental and post metal, Dream Theater, Alice in Chains, and melodic metal bands such as Megadeth and Evergrey. This eclectic mix has really churned out something special! This EP is so good, I think it even deserves a summary of each track: "Hundred Foot Drop" leads off this EP with an eerie, dark intro that could almost come right out of a neo-prog album. You can almost feel the dead weight and the leery feelings of being on the edge of blackness."Subsistence Defined" comes right out of the previous track, and blows the listener away with a hefty metal portion. As with the rest of the EP, melody is never lost---the metal portions are always done tastefully and with great ability. "Drugs For the Pain Inside" begins the four-track song "Like Peering Into the Deepest Ocean Abyss" off with a bang. The drums are particularly amazing on this track, and the raw emotion displayed here really tears at my soul."August 4th" is a narrated track that begins to give you an even better picture of the blackness surrounding the composer. This softer track has wonderful atmospheric moments that look back to the likes of Marillion. "Anything but this...Anywhere but here" is a track with extremely emotive vocals, a great off-tempo drum beat, and more narration. The narration on this EP, by the way, is always spot-on, and never annoying. For comparison, I would look to the excellent narration on Evergrey's "In Search of Truth" to get a picture of the emotion and desperation that are present."I Cannot Explain Myself Anymore" has a medium tempo to it, and it finishes off the "Like Peering into the Darkest Ocean Abyss" four-track song. It contains some great guitar solos and a return to the excellent metal section of "Drugs for the Pain Inside". "Slowly But Surely, I'm Drowning" is a slow, atmospheric track with some of the best keyboards I've heard in 2012---truly amazing work that blows me away every time. This track ends the EP with the tail end of the narration and a nice slow beat.Overall, this EP has me excited for the next offering from this promising band. They nailed the metal parts, they perfected the keyboards, they mastered the lyrical content, and they crafted an amazing atmosphere. This EP is certainly a masterpiece in composition, lyrics, atmosphere, ambiance, technical ability, restraint, and theme. I really cannot praise it any higher, and it will definitely rank in my all-time favorite albums list. This EP gets better and better with every listen, and the band members are some great guys that really love, appreciate, and communicate with their fans. This band deserves to be heard, and this EP deserves a much higher spot in the best of 2012! | ||||||||||||||||||
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