Ok, so as some of you may know already, MetalProgressive.com is constantly on the move trying to find mesmerizing metal music that is progressive, experimental, and distinctively instrumental in nature. For the month of May 2010, we have compiled a list of five progressive metal artists and some of their current projects. Just to make our position clear, our numerical lists are purely nominal as opposed to other types of lists such as ordinal lists. Fundamentally, every band/instrumentalist we mention, including all the members of each project, has astonished us in one way or another. Tosani Abasi, Keith Merrow, Paul Ortiz (‘Chimp Spanner’), Misha Mansoor (AKA “Bulb”of ‘Periphery’), and Chris Purvis are without-a-doubt standing key ground in the new era of dynamic maestro guitar playing and producing. Here some of their current projects.
Tosani Abasi’s current album entitled ‘Animals As Leaders’ is remarkably instrumental, progressive, and has metal influences. Animals As Leaders is based out of Washington DC and consists of Tosani Abasi (guitars), Javier Reyes (guitars), Naven Koperweis (drums), and Chebon Littlefield (computers). Prosthetic Records offered to sign the project and was turned down initially because Abasi thought the idea would be ‘egotistical.’ Tosani Abasi is an astounding musician, one with uniqueness and creative clout. Even artists such as Steve Vai had some compelling feedback about the album and Abasi. Misha Mansoor engineered and, evidently, produced the album adding, among many other things, an array of atmospheric pads, synths, and programming to the mix.
Moving on to another Mansoor project, Periphery’s hometown is Bethesda, Maryland, and they are signed with foremost labels such as Sumerian Records (US), Distort(CA), and Roadrunner(UK/EU/AU/JP), but Periphery’s producer and guitar player, Misha “Bulb” Mansoor , holds ownership of his masters. In Vince Neilstein’s piece at MetalSucks.com, Neilstein talks about how artists such as Misha Mansoor are the future of the music industry highlighting Mansoor’s unique entrepreneurial ability. Evidently, Periphery recorded the pre-release in Mansoor’s apartment and went on to get the thing signed to five key labels. Here is a shout out to the band. Periphery’s line up consists of Misha Mansoor (guitar), Spencer Sotelo (vocals), Jake Bowen (guitar), Tom Murphy (bass), and Matt Halpern (drums). The Album artwork was created by Benjamin Guarino. They currently have both a powerful instrumental and self-titled album out. The sound is hard to describe, but it extremely technical in terms of time signatures, speed, and harmony, but the most appealing part about the music is the tone itself. It sounds almost industrial but in a very pleasant way due to all the compression, gating, and who knows what else used during the recording. Periphery is definitely progressive, experimental, and as metal as they come. Mansoor and Bowen shred in a double act that will hypnotize your psyche. Sotelo has equally a gnashing your teeth scream and a high pitch harmonious accent of which are both mechanical in nature and remarkably innovative. Murphy and Halpern are unbendable.
I stumbled upon Keith Merrow while researching some of M-audio’s interface products mainly the Profire 610 which is what I ended up buying. Keith Merrow is a studio musician from Portland, Oregon who has one E.P. and one album out at this time. His self-produced E.P. entitled “Lonestar Transcend” was released in May 2009. Then shortly after, Merrow released “the Arrival,” an instrumental metal album with ten insightful, prevailing, and melodious songs. Merrow’s sound is original and from the heart. Believe it or not, Merrow’s songs are available for free at his website, but please donate while you are there. In Joe Cook’s piece entitled “Review of Keith Merrow’s ‘the Arrival,’” Cook applauds the idea of metal without stereotypes. He points out how instrumental metal offers listeners a chance to experience and define the music in their own way. Without lyrical definition, listeners are empowered to create their own explanations of the music.
Chris Purvis’s band and solo project called Friend For a Foe is vast and compelling and offers acuity. The extremely emotional tracks for the most part are tuned down and feature quality tenor, astounding compression, and innovative mixes. If you want to know what imagination sounds like, listen to Friend For a Foe. Your initial reaction, if anything like ours, will probably lead to “How the hell did one person do this?” Purvis uses, among many other instruments, seven and eight string guitars and records everything else including the drum tracks. Chris Purvis is influenced by bands such as Machine Head, Ion Dissonance, and Nevermore. A good song by Friend For a Foe is “Breaking the Walls of Trepidation.” It starts off with some ambient panned and reverse delayed tones. Then the beat is anticipated then faded and, finally, the journey begins. The song changes right about minute 4:30 with a spiral sounding collapse in mood and finishes off with some prevailing toil. “As Luck Would Have It,” another great song, is uplifting and touchy and has no vocals at all.
Finally, here is a glimpse at Paul Ortiz’s project called Chimp Spanner. Ortiz mainly uses seven and eight string guitars for the guitar tracks on this album. He is 26 and based in Essex (UK). Paul Ortiz is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer and was taught by his parents. ‘At the Dream’s Edge’ offers musical discernment and leaves no disillusion. The whole album flows without anomaly. Paul Ortiz says that he has been passionate about music for as long as he can remember. The album is heartrending.
http://www.metalsucks.net/2010/05/11/periphery-mastermind-misha-bulb-mansoor-talks-the-future-of-the-music-industry/ ),
http://puregrainaudio.com/news/animals-as-leaders-guitarist-tosin-abasi-to-appear-at-california-guitar-clinic-band-in-summer-slaughter)
http://www.teethofthedivine.com/site/reviews/animals-as-leaders-animals-as-leaders/
http://www.chimpspanner.com/
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