Chicago-based band, Arriver, have been producing eclectic and heavy rock since 2006, illustrated perfectly on their debut Vanlandingham and Zone, which combines heavy rock with punk and even madrigal. Just listen to the magnificent ‘Of The Lining of the Long’ to hear what I mean and how well it works in their hands.
Now the band (Joe Kaplan – drums, percussion, Dan MacAdam – guitars, backing vocals, Dan Sullivan – vocals, guitars and Rob Sullivan – vocals, bass, synthesizer) are set to unleash a work that, in their words, contains “Explosive manifestations of heavy prog and post-doom.” Called Azimuth, this fourth full-length release does indeed combine occasional doom vocals but manages to insert them successfully into heavy, proggy melodies. This is evidenced by the doom-laden, sub-three minute ‘Knot’ right up to the epic title track in all its ten-minute glory.
On display are melodic dissonance and complex time signatures that are wrapped in melodic vocals. While listening, I ended up imagining something Crimsony, but more metallic with added death growl vocals for accent and heralding a frantic lead into the gentle middle proggy section. However, what sums this inventive band up is that they are almost impossible to pigeonhole, which in our opinion can only be a good thing.
Other highlights include: ‘In The Only’ with its Tull and heavy pop tinges, the punk-ish, doomy ‘Constellate’ and the closing, very clever prog of ‘None More Unknown,’ which is the standout, go-to song for me.
My personal taste leans toward the clean vocal tracks but, despite the death growls, the music is always varied, heavy and immaculately played. Arriver deserve to be heard and, whilst straddling different genres might make this more difficult, this is a very worthy album that will appeal to many rock fans.
Azimuth is out today 4th March!
