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| Artwork by Casey Stone-Pirrie |
I was originally introduced to Autolatry right here on Metal Bandcamp when I stumbled across their incredibly underrated but truly exceptional EP Of The Land. At the time, I wrote a mini review of the album on my blog and the one thing that I wrote about Autolatry that still stands true is this band has the "ability to incorporate unique instruments and sounds and beautiful breaks that you wouldn’t normally hear on an ‘extreme’ metal album". While there is going to be some discussion on whether this band is truly a USBM band or part of some other genre should be discarded as any debate will take away from what is a solid album that arguably spans several metal genres.
Similar to past offerings by the band, Native is a concept album centered on the assimilation of Native Americans during the settling of New England colonies. One would think a significant task in and of itself as this is some pretty weighty subject matter and it needs to be translated just right to make sense. Autolatry has done just that and much like Of The Land this album gives the listener a look into the landscape and history of their home state with authority and respect. This album shows the dedication that this band puts into their music as the story unfolds throughout the interpretation.
Transitions are made in these songs that lend themselves to a more progressive side of the music and this actually brings more scope to the songs than I think the average USBM band tries to achieve. The combination of the semi-clean vocals and spectacular mid-song break of “Pale Dishonor” is a showcase in how well a band comfortable with each other can achieve a level of excellence that is hard to quantify. The final song on the album, also the title song, ends in a cacophony of metal goodness that it optimizes the energy, aggression and passion that play out on this album. I could go song by song describing in each what makes them so significant to US metal as it stands today and what makes this album so unique but all one really has to do is give this album a chance and feel for themselves the power of Native.
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I'm not sure what there is to say after one listen. It's obviously a grower, as everything but the kitchen sink was put into these songs.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, though, I like "Colony" the most and am mostly confused about the second half of the record. Hopefully more listens will reveal a path to understanding.
I like progressive / complex music so my initial impression is that it is better than Of the Land. Love the little fusion touches. But my opinion may change off course...
DeleteI don't think there's much of a comparison; "Of the Land" is leaps and bounds ahead of this. But that's subject to change too.
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