Contortionist, The: Clairvoyant

Clairvoyant is the fourth full-length studio release from Indiana progressive metal act The Contortionist, and sees the band diving fully into the more melodic style that began with 2014's Language. Complete with soaring vocal harmonies and lush musical passages, Clairvoyant takes their technical metal into even deeper progressive waters, dreamy songs such as "The Center", "Monochrome (Passive)", and "Reimagined" almost like a cross between Anathema and Sigur Ros, with less bombast and bone crunching fury than we've heard in the past. Some intricate arrangement do appear up on the pop/jazz tinged "Absolve", with some of the shimmering guitar chords not unlike mid-'80s Rush, while some of the albums heaviest riffing show up on the back end of the CD with songs such as "Relapse" and "Return to Earth", though neither really qualifies as anything earth shattering on the richter scale. As gorgeous as many parts of Clairvoyant are, no doubt some fans might be put off by the lack of 'metal' here, as overall this is a pretty mellow album. That being said, Michael Lessard's vocals are quite charming throughout, and both Cameron Maynard & Robby Baca have created some mighty fine guitar textures, so even though Clairvoyant lacks some of the thunder and technicality of old, there are still some mighty fine things going on here from a band that continues to evolve.

Robby Baca: Guitar
Michael Lessard: Vocals
Joey Baca: Drums/Percussion
Cameron Maynard: Guitar
Jordan Eberhardt: Bass Guitar
Eric Guenther: Keyboards

Track Listing

1. Monochrome (Passive)
2. Godspeed
3. Reimagined
4. Clairvoyant
5. The Center
6. Absolve
7. Relapse
8. Return to Earth
9. Monochrome (Pensive)

Added: September 2nd 2017
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1822
Language: english

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