By: Daniela Patrizi
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Released on April 3, 2015 via Independent
Eschar are a superb progressive post-rock/metal band that play with a huge sense of passion and fury in equal measure. Heading from Guildford, UK, the quartet has just released an album where there are no boundaries between space-prog, post-rock and prog metal. Nova is a great mix of sounds that not only has a peculiar flavour, but also changes throughout the album so that the 9 tracks all together offer a soundtrack to several moments of the day and it’s hard to pick a favourite song. Listen to your current mood and you’ll find your track-of-the-moment.
Across its approximately 52 minutes, Nova delivers an immersive experiences for your ears and brain. The first three tracks of Nova launch the listeners directly into space. Looking at the cover artwork it’s clear that the first 18 minutes of the record express exactly what Eschar attempts to bring us, that something is beyond the universe where each and every boundary is crossed in a unique musical journey. From the structure of these tracks it’s also clear that the band prefer intensity in a few minutes rather than an explosion in a lot of minutes as instead happens in the more typical post-rock songs.
Something changes with the fourth song ‘Echoes and Reflections’ that can be considered an intro, which creates a beautifully crafted suspense that takes off in the following track ‘Discovery One’. The guitar riffs here are rich and full throughout the whole song, and it’s evident that this is an ambitious and thoughtfully constructed album. The space feel flows through the whole album and if you are a fan of space rock I’m sure you’ll get lost in it.
‘Falling Faintly Through The Universe’ is another example of pretty spacey post-rock. There are no repetitions nor crescendos but there’s a constantly shifting journey through space. In the last 20 minutes of Nova, Rory Gilhespy , Rob O’Murphy, Sam Beattie and George Linacre will transport the listener into a universe where elaborate soundscapes and melodic sections sprinkled by guitar delays are particularly prominent. The rhythm is pursuing and you’ll feel in trap of the wall of sound the band manage to deliver.
If you are looking for a rest, forget it because there’s no room here for a break and your mind will be in a continuous loop. Even once the album has ended. Every instrument here is aimed to stream its music into deep, galaxy-spanning layers of sound.
Nova is a great album that space metal fans will adore. With a bit more melody and heavier moments this record would be perfect. Good Stuff.
