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Ominous, haunting, and appealing are suitable
words to describe the sound and technique Extol
brings with “The Blueprint Dives.” There are many different
vibes and tunes, everything from harmonies to violent tendencies.
I found myself listening intensely to see what direction the music
took. For this release, guitarists Christer Espevoll and Ole Burud
left the band due to the demanding commitment. However their old guitarist
Tor Mange Glidje also of Ganglion and Lengsil along with the other
guitarist from those bands Ole Halvard Sveen took their place. What
that created was quite a diverse sound. It’s a blending of progressive,
death, and black metal for their base, wrapped with characteristics
of grind and hardcore and sewn together with their own techniques
and modern rock. Trying to put a name of what type of music they play
is difficult. You can hear hardcore, death, black, thrash, grind and
a host of other metallic treatments. Extol have the complexity and
technicality of Opeth at times along with hints of Blindside, Anathema,
Green Carnation, Killswitch Engage and Neurosis. It’s hard to
tell the difference between Opeth and Extol sometimes with the similarity
of their riffs. Also, you can hear the melodic Deftones sound, and
even Pink Floyd like atmospheres. The vocals are either clean or melodic
hardcore screams. An impressive combination of metal traits takes
Extol’s sound into many different directions. I felt the majority
of “The Blueprint Dives” was oddly appealing due to the
diversity it brought forth. Rating: 80 |
