Sirens

Spore EP

Written by: SC on 10/02/2013 16:22:28

Newly formed five-piece band Sirens from Terre Haute, Indiana, USA have made a quite remarkable debut EP “Spore” combining progressive metal, djent and drum ‘n’ bass. Yes, that is right, drum ‘n’ bass! Fellow metal followers have often criticized this electronical genre, at least in my presence. I can understand the scepticism amongst those of you who do not like commercial dance-pop like David Guetta (like me) but in my eyes drum ‘n’ bass's dark and heavy approach to the electronical scene often creates a intense and voluminous expression with deep bassline grooves and soft almost fragile timbres (see: N-Type).

Drum ‘n’ bass is a supplement to Sirens djent approach to their metal sound. Their harsh, heavy, offbeat riffs combined with the percussion-ish way of singing refers to Swedish djent legends Meshuggah. There is loads of speed, breakdowns, and harshness and yet hints of fragility. Take the longest track on the “Spore” EP “Cloudbreak”: It is a thundering storm of roughness, playing with a light spray of timbres in the background for approximately two minutes, then breaking down in a piece of pompously and yet delicate and dreamy drum ‘n’ bass and then taking off in a blast of controlled aggression once again.

This schism of different genres joining forces really does something extraordinary in this context. Korn made an admirable work on their latest record “The Path Of Totality” which combined their nu-metal style with some drum ‘n’ bass in a more commercial way than Sirens progressive soundscape. These guys do not try to make an easy listening and like Meshuggah, Sirens challenge the listener with their brutal playing style that creates a wall of sound that has the amazing ability of getting under your skin from the start and then just develop as a sort of paradox that brings bad and evil together in a higher course.

Sirens’ djent and drum ‘n’ bass soundscape melts together into a maybe silly but appropriate symbiosis that could be called “djent ‘n’ bass” where each really does the other justice. I am spellbound by how great “Spore” is and by its continuing growth. The only negative critique I can come up with is that Sirens have been a bit too ambitious a few times, making so many layers that the guitars occasionally drown in the mixing, but it never becomes a dominant factor that spoils the total impression. “Spore” is a really solid release with loads of quality and with their first full-length record in the works this indicates a bright future for Sirens.

Download: Drift, Cloudbreak, Propaganda
For The Fans Of: After The Burial, Meshuggah, Born Of Osiris
Listen: facebook.com

Release Date 13.11.2012
Imminence Records


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