EP Review: "Atonement" by A Province of Thay

Atonement

Juxtaposed.

Life is best lived when there are many competing forces. Underneath it all, my nature is fiercely rebellious. You should have heard the things I said to my mother when she was displeased with my dyed hair, eyebrow ring, etc.

But at heart, I'm also a rule follower.

These two sides of my personality have long been at odds with one another.

It's something makes me uniquely me. It also explains my taste in music as well. Show tunes sit next to death metal which sits next to psychedelic rock which sits next to avant garde craziness. Life is best lived on a continuing adventure. Alchemy is about far more than the search for gold.

NOT A Province of Thay

A Province of Thay is one of those post bands, just post-metal though, nothing to post specific.

Still, the idea of post anything is a tad confusing to me, but let's move on with this EP.

Each of the four tunes is over 8 minutes long making it 1.15 Reign In Bloods in length....and that's an LP, so you figure it out.

The idea of taking harsh metal and countering it with melodic singing and is not a new trend and it's frankly a little boring.

But A Province of Thay does not counter these two elements. They blend them in a strange alchemy that I've yet to personally hear.

The piano and the strained vocals are not strangers to our land, but how often does the strain of the piano feel as powerful as the power chord?

Certainly there are times in the songs when it's the melodic part followed by the heavy part, but what keeps these epic tunes fresh is the waves of sound when the join forces. Hammers hit strings in time with the cymbals.

The vocals riff instead of just passing by. It's a power that's been yet untapped in heavy music.

Let's hear some more.

Release: 10/08/16
Genre: Post-Metal
Label: Carrion Choir
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