The Contortionist

Exoplanet

[Good Fight | 8/31/10]

Sumeriancore is a genre I generally don’t listen to. I feel like it’s a jack of all trades and a master of none, but Indiana’s The Contortionist prove that you can’t always count something out. If you were hesitant about listening to Sumeriancore bands, now is the time to change that. Simply put, Exoplanet delivers on all levels.

“Primal Directive” is an epitomizing opener, showcasing everything that The Contortionist rely on to make a fantastic album: resonating, heavy-as-fuck riffs intertwined with bright melodies. Throughout the song you’ll be met with these qualities, amplified only by the multi-ranged vocals. From high shrieks to low, booming growls, the vocals are anything but terrible. For even more diversity and to pair with the melodies, there is an extensive use of a vocoder. This fits the theme of the album well, adding an extra level of spacey, planetary-ness (I’m reminded of The Faceless‘ Planetary Duality album). My only gripe is I feel like the frequent layering of growls over singing abolishes the harmony of it. The contrast seems a bit unnecessary at times with the already-established melodies and tends to make said passage a little awkward and unfitting (middle of “Primal Directive”). While not the most unique harsh vocals, the diverse styles throughout Exoplanet should be enough to perk up your ears. In retrospect, the music here is god tier. What Exoplanet truly excels at is never making your listening experience boring. None of the breakdowns feel obligatory and none of the melodic breaks feel forced. Additionally, some of the unorthodox, unexpected transitions work well. The intro to “Expire” starts with some fading-in vocoder before busting out heavy blast beats while “Contact” feels like it’ll be the ballad of the album, but constantly changes from bright to dark. If you want booming tritone breakdowns, death metal passages and lots of melodies in between then Exoplanet is for you.

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