This review comes rather suddenly, since I really wanted to make another post before October ends. Somehow I always get angry at myself when I see a low post count for a given month. And, I have to admit, once I wrote the "Calf" review I realized how much I missed writing album reviews and discovering new bands in the process, so this also comes as something to satisfy my own inspired mood.
Today I present to you "Colossus of Destiny", a three-piece progressive post metal outfit hailing from Paris. Born back in 2009, the French have started making music which soon formed into a self-titled, three song EP only one year later. Yet another 365 days later and coming out in February 2011 they come back bearing this album which is longer, more complex and further evolved.
"Eden" opens up with an almost six minute blast coming in the form of the song called "Uncover the Cosmic Clue". I have to say that this was an excellent opener and it completely grasped my liking almost instantly. What you are faced with is a score of sounds influenced by bands such as "Elodea", "Kylesa" and "Baroness", yet utterly morphed and weaved into something that is purely "Colossus of Destiny". At first glance, the thing that really amazed me was the very massiveness of their sound, building up a gigantic wall of sound with only three humans holding their instruments.
Once you look past the monstrosity which they unleashed, you realize how complex the sound actually is. Songs are fast paced and featuring so many ups and downs, interesting bridges, sudden swings in melody and unexpected instrumental sections. There is so much going on in a particular song, always with a constant, yet superbly flowing, rush and it all makes you feel like the songs are much longer than they are. By the time the second song, called "Eden", hits the speakers you pretty much don't know what to do, where to look or what keeps hitting you in the face repeatedly. The opening song was a climactic punch to the ears, but "Eden" continues to attack the senses with amazing guitar riffs, insane drumming and some truly powerful bass. When you go through the entire record you realize that there is no stopping with this band, every tone they make is one huge epic moment and the EP is an apocalyptic bomb sowing chaos everywhere.
Another wonderful thing about this band is the pace with which it grows on you. At first you just begin with liking their music, but by the end of the record you are completely in love with them. It is unbelievable how they keep getting more and more interesting as seconds pass by, so when the final tune echoes away and dies the listener is left with a mind blowing feeling of witnessing a mild breeze turn into a violent thunderstorm.
I've been introduced to this release by "Blue Wave Productions", if you remember the same promotion group from France which showed me "Battle of Memorial Britain", a review which you can read here. Additionally, this EP was supported and released by "Hellbound Records", a label that has two more bands under its wing and you can check them out on their facebook page here. "Eden" comes in CD format and in a plastic case featuring some minimalist, but quite peculiar artwork, as you can see on the front cover. The CD itself also has a really interesting swirl print, so overall the design is very appealing.
In the end, this is one insane record and yet another astounding band in the already powerful French brigade. I've avoided detailed explanations of songs in this review simply because explaining everything would be impossible and talking about just one specific part seems so poor since there are millions of things exploding around. Just listen to them, trust me, you won't regret that decision in the slightest. And you can do so on their bandcamp page, found here. Currently, judging by the band's facebook page found here, the project grew in number and are now a quintet, adding a new vocalist and one more guitar player. They are writing new material for an upcoming full-length album and this is definitely something to be excited about. Keep them on the radar, I sense a storm coming.
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