EPISTHEME “Descending Patterns” /CD/

The debut full-length album by Italian Extreme Progressive Metal band.
Formed by Italian bassist Riccardo Liberti in 2010, EpisTheme is a five piece Progressive Metal outfit. Featuring seven tracks and just under forty minutes of music, EpisTheme takes the listener on a journey through varying shades of Progressive Metal that could loosely be placed within the confines of late eighties era of Fates Warning, mixed with the dark and brooding nature of Deadsoul Tribe and Extreme Progressive Metal a la mid-period Opeth or a less djenty version of Meshuggah. That’s a lot of ground to cover, really it is, but EpsiTheme manages to scatter all of those influences throughout their debut album and manage to still sound unified.
Despite the band’s claim that their music is Progressive Death Metal, the music on Descending Patterns is better described as Dark and emotional Progressive Metal. Sure the band injects a good bit of heaviness throughout, like the staccato riffing during “Endless Apathy” or the Groovy chugging during “Blindside”, but their bread and butter so to speak comes when the band introduces their dark sense of melody. The melodic minor picking and Jazzy bass line during “Eyeland” and the ghostlike quietude during “Shades of May” show the band’s Progressive leanings, but with a darker shade than usual. Songs like “Silent Screaming” attempt to bridge the gap between the heavy and the serene, with smooth and clean vocals over high octane riffing and double kicked drums, but it sounds somewhat forced when piled on top of each other. Another example, “Erase That Frame”, which starts with a Prog Death lick, similar to "Still Life"-era Opeth, builds into a choppy track that really crumbles under its own weight, until a melodically infused, minor key segment breaks the stagnancy.
"Descending Patterns" is a solid album, this is truly and acts to watch out for, as they have the proper chops and their song writing skills are top notch. Riccardo Liberti and crew have released an enjoyable debut that fans of Progressive Metal (who don’t mind a little screaming in the mix) should enjoy! Fans of Progressive and/or Extreme Metal shouldn’t look past this great debut release, and what a debut release it is, because it has probably got more than a few spins in it if you give it the chance!!
For fans of Meshuggah, Dream Theater and Opeth!!
Selfreleased, 2014 (CD001/2014). Made in Italy. First press.


Tracklist:
1. Eyeland 04:07
2. Erase That Frame 05:52
3. Silent Screaming 05:33
4. Shades of May 03:33
5. Blind Side 06:32
6. Endless Apathy 06:39
7. Nemesis 06:32
Total playing time: 38:48


Samples: https://soundcloud.com