December 2021 Feature Release – The Infinite Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Infinite has been nominated by Xephyr. It's the brand new tenth album "Moss Grew on the Swords & Plowshares Alike" from Boston-based avant-garde metal outfit Kayo dot.

https://metal.academy/releases/31922

This is such a fucking great inclusion for a feature release Xephyr. I can't tell you how impressed I am with this record. I was only previously familiar with Toby Driver's three most highly praised classics in Maudlin Of The Well's "Bath" & "Leaving Your Body Map" & Kayo Dot's debut album "Choirs Of The Eye" so I had no idea of what creative path he'd be taking eighteen years later. I actually never agreed with those records being labelled as "avant-garde" but 2021's "Moss Grew on the Swords & Plowshares Alike" is another story altogether. It's a weird & wonderful journey through sounds that appear to be completely foreign, sometimes welcoming the listener in & at others leaving them recoiling. It's incredibly ambitious but the vast majority of its run time seems to be so focused & fully realized making it a landmark record of truly avant-garde metal music.

There's a significant 70's progressive rock component on display here that I really dig. The complexity of the instrumentation is quite brilliant with the sheer psychedelia of some of the climaxes really hitting a sweet spot for me. I don't love the harsh vocals. They're definitely the weakest element in Kayo Dot's sonic arsenal however the clean vocals are the spitting image of Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour & hit a lot closer to home for this old Floyd tragic. That's not the only reference to the masters of timeless prog rock either with some of the atmospheres presented here having a similar feel & the unusual open-string guitar parts making reference to similarly Floyd-inspired Canadian progressive metal outfit Voivod. The way the rhythm section is incorporated within the more complex sections is nothing short of invigorating while the melodic lead guitar work provides a wonderful juxtaposition to the chaos ensuing beneath with the more intense Morbid Angel influenced metal sections providing a similar counterpoint for the smoother progressive meanderings of tracks like "Void in Virgo (The Nature of Sacrifice)".

This all amounts to a genuinely captivating & unique musical experience that's reinvigorated my appetite for the more avant-garde strains of metal music. How an album can sound so bizarre yet so intensely ethereal at the same time is a huge feather in Toby's cap. The closing drone passage of epic closer "Epipsychidion" & the slowly building psychedelia & crescendo of album highlight "Get Out of the Tower" are a marvel to behold. Don't get me wrong, "Moss Grew on the Swords & Plowshares Alike" is not a perfect record but it's certainly an intriguing & rewarding one that should be on the radar of all members of The Infinite. I think I still favour the Kayo Dot's classic 2003 debut album "Choirs of the Eye" over this one but there's not a lot in it & I think that in time this release will be spoken in the same terms.

For fans of Maudlin Of The Well, Voivod & Ehnahre.

4.5/5

P.S. Am I the only one that hears absolutely bugger-all gothic metal here? The open-string riffs sound like something that might have come from an early 80's goth rock artist like Bauhaus but doesn't the music have to actually sound gothic for a gothic metal tag to be relevant? Why is the RYM community so adamant about having this record tagged as such? I'd suggest that there's actually more of a post-punk influence personally. I can definitely hear where the post-metal references are coming from but it's only a small piece of the overall puzzle so I feel that an Avant-Garde Metal primary & a Progressive Rock secondary is the most appropriate tagging. 

To be clear Andi, I just said that I don't hear anything gothic about this release. I don't see any links to gothic metal whatsoever.

My first impressions of Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike was pretty underwhelming. Toby Driver has made a reputation of not conforming to "traditional" progressive normality with projects like maudlin of the well and Kayo Dot. And I was less than impressed with Blasphemy so I had limited expectations. My first impressions were of a better production, but far less progressive than previous records from the band.

That is until I got to the second go around. And I found the songwriting to be significantly more diverse between individual tracks. Maybe not as diverse as Hubardo, but the avant-garde tag in this case is not in reference to its quirkiness, as has become commonplace in the genre lately. There is atonality, but it all makes sense together as part of a greater work. While "Void in Virgo (The Nature of Sacrifice)" is predominantly post-metal, the growth and obtuseness of the following track, "Spectrum of One Colour" with its heavier vocals, advanced harmony and busier fundamental is where this album shines brightest. On most albums, these would feel like major whiplash as it jumps sporadically between styles, but here they all seem to connect together. The primary formula is maintained through the genre swapping and is commendable.

The production is vastly improved as they remembered to turn on the bass amp during the recordings! The varying vocal stylings of Toby Driver are balanced well. The guitar melodies are fruitful and memorable, even as the solos descend into a darker place with atonality aplenty. The post-metal rhythm guitars and synths are textured well, and the percussion manages to be deceptively technical. My biggest issue, like with all Kayo Dot albums, is the length. Lots of good ideas can only prop up an album so much when they are primarily contained to the middle of the record. Although with this, unlike other Kayo Dot albums, it doesn't overstay its runtime with obnoxiously long tracks consistently. Only one track surpasses ten minutes and it's the closer "Epipsychidion". I liked this album quite a bit, but it took a few tries before it finally clicked with me. It may only be a seed, but it will sprawl to life with enough care.

8/10