Rochester, New York natives Contrarian have released their debut EP "Predestined" and it's quite an epic piece of work. There is a LOT going on in just three songs. For starters, the band recruited Nile drummer George Kollias. Let's face it, he is a beast on the kit. Contrarian pack a ton of riffs and changes into each track. Even the second track "Libertarian Manifesto," which is only just over three minutes, has some very nice changes. It is my favorite song on the EP. The peaceful ending to "Diogenes at Delphi" is actually another highlight of this EP. Fans of technical death metal like Gorguts, Beyond Creation and even the always brutal Nile will find a lot to enjoy in this brief introduction to the band.
The areas I hope they expand on are the vocals and the sections themselves. Vocally, there can be a bit of sameness at times. Perhaps adding various death vocal styles would help add additional emotion to certain moments. And I would love the band, which is incredibly gifted musically, to fly off further on musical tangents. They are VERY good at transitions so if they decide to head off the path even more, I am sure they'd have no issues making it work seamlessly.
Fans of progressive tech death metal should definitely check out "Predestined." It will be interesting to watch this band grow.
