It is hard to argue against the huge mark Opeth have left in the Progressive Metal genre. A lot of young bands starting out often cite the Swedish band as an influence, yet fortunately most of them try to reach for their own voice. But when Opeth themselves stopped working in the Metal style that had made them known, a vacuum was left for other bands to try to fill. I won’t lie here, Opeth are one of my favorite bands and I can be as hungry for new material that hits that same sweet spot. Occasionally, a band like Wilderun releases something like Sleep at the Edge of the Earth, iterating on the sound rather than trying to recreate the albums Opeth put out. Other times, bands like Obsidian Tide release albums like their debut, Pillars of Creation, that sounds like a patchwork of Ghost Reveries sections, or whatever Opeth album is their favorite. I was not very impressed by this debut and cannot say I was very interested in listening to the follow up. But here I am giving them another shot. I am glad that I did as I can hear the seeds of their own voice forming on The Grand Crescendo. That is not to say that the influences cannot be clearly heard on the album. On the contrary, the soft/heavy dynamic and transitions lean heavily on Opeth still, sometimes even sounding like direct quotes. This time Heritage (in the middle of “HALO CRVSHER”) and Damnation can be heard alongside the Ghost Reveries riffs and some songs also lean on a Porcupine Tree feel (“Beyond”) as well as Riverside (“The Invasion on Paradise”).
It is when the band shift from thinking only of the soft/harsh dynamic to playing around with the composition that a personality starts to emerge in the songs. “The Undying Flames” is for instance a good track, that hones in on a wave-like riff and develops it throughout the song and transitions into a very playful guitar and drum trade-off solo. There is a real momentum here, unlike in most of their other songs, that I think shows that their skill as writers is starting to develop past tropes. This song and “Beyond” gives me hope that the band can develop on their next outing. For this one, however, a few problems stop that development in its tracks. The bass, for one, sounds a bit too muffled for what it is doing. The band is otherwise competent instrumentally and move as one in sharp turns of directions. The vocals, however, are a mixed bag. Shachar Bieber‘s harsh vocals are good, throaty and raspy. They lend the heavier moments some power, as intended. But Oz Aveneya‘s clean vocals are way too nasal for what he attempts, almost turning some moments to comedy where they should be emotional. I realize that harping on a band too much for sounding like their potential influences is redundant and a bit reductive, but I feel that this band really needs to escape the tropes of the genre they are playing in if they want to accomplish something truly great. Though they are calling their own debut a “masterpiece” on their Bandcamp page so maybe they don’t want to? After all, why should I listen to this band when their countrymen Orphaned Land exist and produce music with a lot more character?
