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"Between Karnivool and Tesseract, Massface comes back with a new album of efficient atmospheric alternative metal."
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3/5
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And that's two for Massface, a Russian metal band, who releases their new album "Inequable" at the end of this year. At least, it seems that this record is their second one, because without an official website allowing us to have a look at the history of the band from Saint-Petersburg, we had to rely on their YouTube channel, which offers tracks from a previous eponymous album released five years earlier.
More concretely, it is possible here to speak of alternative metal with a relatively developed atmospheric side, especially on the verses. The frequent lulls remind a lot of Tesseract or Ihlo with guitars coated with reverb. The voice and especially the syncopated rhythms remind us of Karnivool, with tracks that are both slow and punchy.
In terms of pure mastery and interpretation, there is nothing to say, everything is clean. Massface released a very well produced record, making room for a modern and heavy mix perfectly in the air of time, which manages to breathe thanks to many more aerial sections ('Aftermath', 'One').
If you take a closer look at the content, it becomes clear that the influences mentioned above are the framework for this album. The fans of Tesseract and Karnivool will probably be delighted to discover a new nugget, but those who expected a more personal work from these Russians could be disappointed. Indeed, if the result remains very professional, well produced and impeccable, a certain lack of originality can be deplored.
Some tracks manage however to take some liberties and to emancipate themselves from the mentioned influences by adding an almost metalcore touch. This is the case of the track 'Bystander' which stands out from the others with more powerful guitar phrasing and a guttural vocal as unexpected as successful. It also breaks somewhat this very clean image that the band builds track after track with a sense of sharp melody, bringing a little dissonance with almost unhealthy riffs, which complement perfectly with the rest of its identity.
We can only wish Massface to continue their experimentations until they manage to find the optimal dosage that will allow them to fully digest their influences and to bring out the essential, mixing it with more singular touches, until they create a music that is their own. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Aftermath - 05:57 02. Dunes - 03:48 03. Wither - 05:18 04. The Fount - 03:28 05. Evocative - 01:27 06. Bewildered - 04:09 07. Bystander - 03:49 08. One - 04:41 09. Pete Bancini - 01:33
LINEUP:
Aleksandr Grigorev: Chant Aleksandr Tarabrin: Guitares Aleksei Novikov: Basse Denis Shulika: Batterie Ivan Romanchuk: Guitares Semyon Martsinkevich: Claviers
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