SimpleXity: Click To Start

I have not had the pleasure of hearing a lot of bands from Egypt, in fact, SimpleXity is the first one. I am pleased to report their debut EP Click To Start, released in July of this year, is a very good start to what should be a promising career.

The band was formed in 2007 when Hatem Ghaleb (keyboards) and Omar El-Deeb (guitars) got together and were soon joined by Noor Ayman (bass) and Aly Hassab El Naby (drums). Eventually Ghaleb left the band and was replaced by Ahmed Adel, hence the band's current line-up.

Click To Start is an impressive debut album showcasing the band's penchant for atmospheric, moody songs with a heaviness that is mostly heavy prog but does venture occasionally into progressive metal. The music at times can be quite brooding with a slight nod towards the melancholic and the melodies are ever present. Soaring guitar work, textural keys and effects and lots of tempo changes are what you can look forward to. Of course, as you might have expected there is an ethnic flavour running through the CD which makes the music that much more interesting. A case in point is the opening track "A Lone Wolf's Dying Will" with its Eastern vibe, nice mixture of acoustic and electric guitar and meandering synth work. The pace changes throughout varying from fast to slow demonstrating this band has plenty of talent under their collective sleeves. In "Thin Air" the moodiness continues with its subdued sound and emotional laden lead vocals. It is not an overly complex song but the ear catching melody more than makes up for such shortcomings. The album ends with the pretty "Luminosity" featuring intriguing guitar/keyboard textures and a cool guitar crescendo leading to some soaring lead work. This one has a bit of a psychedelic ambiance.

Overall, this is a fine debut album. I look forward to hearing a full length release which will hopefully come sooner rather than later.

Track Listing:
1. A Lone Wolf's Dying Will (5:55)
2. Thin Air (4:46)
3. A Complex Outcome – Diaries From Turah (4:56)
4. A Complex Outcome – Tranquil Illusions (2:56)
5. Luminosity (6:33)

Added: September 19th 2011
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 2772
Language: english

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