Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Textures - Phenotype (2016)

In December 2017, the same month as the farewell concerts from The Dillinger Escape Plan and HIM, Textures also made their exit. The band had already made enough music for two albums; Phenotype and Genotype. While Phenotype was released in early 2016, the split-up sadly meant the cancellation of Genotype's release...

That huge disappointment aside, Phenotype was worth the 5-year wait fans had since the glorious Dualism. This ambitious progressive metal/djent band was determined to start this new era big. They're an unstoppable force of music complexity, crafting their material and shaping up an entire concept. And it sounds so complete that you might almost forget that this was meant to be a double album in the first place!

Once again, they open the gates on a hostile note in "Oceans Collide", having the rhythmic aggression of Meshuggah. Marvelous "New Horizons" continues the aggression while the clean atmosphere rises from the clean singing of Daniel De Jongh and the keys, already showing that the talented power of Dualism has never died out. We also have the powerful "Shaping a Single Grain of Sand". The song has lots of devilish rhythms, as well as different twists and turns to get you hooked. Things are definitely shaping up well, and you're up for more of this strength.

"Illuminate the Trail" toys with the industrial groove of Mnemic and a bit of the technical deathcore of Born of Osiris and Chelsea Grin, all through 7 wonderous minutes. "Meander" is a hypnotic tribal interlude. It segues to the heavy highlight "Erosion".

"The Fourth Prime" has more headbanging groove to surpass the heaviness of the previous track while blending it with melodic sections. "Zman" is a nice calm break before this album's grand conclusion... "Timeless" breaks out of that piano melancholy, raging in with the band's usual mix of heaviness and melody. This extraordinary finale allows to witness the band's talent one last time.

All in all, Phenotype isn't as perfectly revolutionary as the previous two albums, but it's a solid gem to show the band what they are. And... oh yeah, the band has just reformed after their 6-year split. I really hope they release their unreleased Genotype or, better yet, re-record it and make it better than it would've been. Please, Textures, we need you!

Favorites: "New Horizons", "Illuminate the Trail", "Erosion", "Timeless"