Georgia's instrumental prog-metal mindbenders Canvas Solaris are back with their latest platter of technical mania, titled Irradiance. Though perhaps never as heavy as some of thier comtemporaries like Blotted Science, Behold the Arctopus. Liquid Tension Experiment, or Planet X, the band seems to have kicked things up a notch here on Irradiance, and the results are quite stellar as always from this lethal five-piece.
There's a sense of bombast and uber-heaviness on the opening crushers "Adaptive Optics" and "Conveyance of Flux" that makes it seem like the band is out to prove something here. Nathan Sapp and Chris Rushing are both letting fly with intricate harmony lines and humongous riffs, and the two find themselves weaving in and out and between each other on the complex prog number "The Horizon Feasts On Stars", complete with some insane rhythms from bassist Gael Pirlot & drummer Hunter Ginn. Donnie Smith lays down some trippy keyboard effects and soundscapes on the moody "Accelerated Testing Phase", providing a launching pad for some explosive guitar exchanges, and the scorching "Glacier" is a blazing slice of complex riff-o-rama that will please all prog-metal fans who like their music heavy and intricate. A similar type of intensity can be heard on "Threads of Dead Space", but the more melodic, prog-rock side of the band shows up on the beautiful " Soliton (Emergence From Dispersion)", a tune with more than a fair share of alluring passages. The mostly acoustic, ethnic tinged closer "Null Proximity" closes out the CD on a more tranquil note, providing a respite from all the bombast.
Canvas Solaris are becoming one of the most reliable bands on the instrumental prog/metal/fusion scene, and Irradiance is another in a line of stellar releases them. Highly recommended!
Track Listing
1. Adaptive Optics
2. Conveyance of Flux
3. The Horizon Feasts On Stars
4. Glacier
5. Accelerated Testing Phase
6. Threads of Dead Space
7. Soliton (Emergence From Dispersion)
8. Vapor Chasm
9. Null Proximity
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