March 2022 Feature Release – The Gateway 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 Gateway has been nominated by Saxy. It's last year's interesting & quirky "Troposphere" album from Australian alternative metal outfit The Bread Scientists. I included almost all of the tracks from this album on The Gateway playlists last year as I felt that it offered something a little different & wanted to push a band that was not only so local to me personally (residing in my home state of New South Wales) but also making waves through the underground music scene. I'll be interested to see what you guys think of it.

https://metal.academy/releases/26272

Whilst I cannot (and will not) pretend to like this, it is far less offensive than I first thought.  That album cover screams "bedroom project" and as such the overall structure and direction - or rather lack of it - plays to this impression.  I don't mind the inclusion of drum 'n bass elements.  In fact I would go as far as to say that they build rhythm quite well and compliment that endless rolling riff that plagues most of the album.

For an album that is not afraid to explore new realms though, it is surprisingly dull and one-dimensional.  The fact that it is all instrumental doesn't help either; with no vocals to focus on the music becomes centre stage and for me it is just not interesting enough.

1/5

I was a little bit worried when I read Vinny's review of this album and felt like I might need to write an apology letter after this one. I mentioned a few months ago that if you see a newer album requested by me in the featured album section, it's most likely an album that I have a faint interest in listening to, rather than an album that I want to show off. 

So with trepidation I listened to Troposphere and...well it isn't as bad as I anticipated. It isn't very good, but I can tell that there was at least some kind of effort put in to make a record that sounded unique on its own terms. And I'll be damned if it does not sound unique in the way that it blends industrial, drum and bass ("Helios"), math rock and post-metal/shoegaze ("Starburst") together. After coming off of my Zeal & Ardor review, it's fascinating to see how different the avant-garde tag can really be.

It's a damn shame the album sounds awful. As Vinny eluded to, without a vocalist, these songs quickly lose momentum when they rely heavily on texture rather than melody. The guitar has a low pass filter on it that sounds like its fading in and out of each track by accident. And the overall compression of that guitar line is enough to make my skin crawl. These post-metal passages on "Vaporous" are supposed to sound massive and epic, but end up feeling half baked as if not to wake up the neighbours.

Perhaps what keeps this album from unbearable is the bass lines. I wish more metal bands had the cahones to have bass lines in their music that were as prominent, tight and independent as these. The rest of it? There was an attempt at something promising, but more than likely its monetary restrictions keeping this below average, and that's a real shame.

4/10

This one is a definite grower. On first listen my feelings were similar to those expressed above however repeat listens saw it opening up significantly with headphones being an absolute must if you're going to see the full value in the immersive experience on offer. What sole member Jacob Paddison gives us here is a combination of many disparate influences that come together to create a fairly unique little record. It might not always gel but there can be no denying his ambition. I think the alternative metal tag is sufficient to cover this release but you'll easily detect sections that are more like ambient, shoegaze, gothic rock, stoner rock, psychedelic rock, noise rock & even doom metal. When it works you'll get a truly psychedelic wall of sound that's ever-changing & unpredictable. When it doesn't you're left with several cool ideas that are presented in a quirky yet noticeably haphazard way. There's certainly an electricity to this music that becomes pretty infectious after a few listens though. I won't deny that there a few tracks here that don't do much for me (see opener "!!!", "Helios" & the lengthy noise-fest of a closer "Black Sun Mirage") but by listen three I found myself really fucking digging the stronger material (see the three track run of "Red Planet", album highlight "Starburst" & "Slug" in particular). I've always been one for psychedelics so the more cerebral sections give me a lot of enjoyment while the heavier riffs are are definitely chunky enough to get my head nodding. I guess my background in electronic music doesn't hurt either given the inclusion of drum 'n' bass elements. Overall I find this to be an interesting listen that won't make any best-of lists but definitely offers something a little bit different for the occasional change of scene.

3.5/5

OK, I really wasn't looking forward to this one - stupid band name, shit album cover - so far, so DIY... oh and it's an instrumental only album to make matters worse. On the upside it's only 25 minutes long, but on the downside is.. everything else - especially that irritating cymbal sound that I can even hear over my tinnitus and is even more annoying than tinnitus!

In truth, this was always going to be ahard sell to me and has been proved to be such. If you are keen on electronic music as well as metal then there may be something here for you, but for me there is nothing.

1/5