Across The Sun - Before The Night Takes Us

Keep an eye on these boys, cuz they've got the talent to become a bad-ass metal band.I know that progressive metal has its cliches and that every new technique or nuance that manages its way into my favorite sub-genre of music eventually gets used ad nauseum, but it's not always bad. Seriously, it's not like I don't know that the whole odd time signature, switching between cookie monster on the verse and clean vocals on the chorus (or vice versa) thing is new. But new doesn't automatically equal good, which is why I have to give it all a real listen before I go givin' my stamp, right?

Across The Sea is, on its surface, another progressive metal band (in this case from Portland, Oregon - yeah, Portland) with the usual description; five guys each highly skillled with their respective instruments, having polished their sound over the last seven years of writing and touring.  The band was apparently refined enough to get signed with Metal Blade and garner the assistance of producer/engineer Daniel Castleman (As I Lay Dying), resulting in their first official studio release, Before The Night Takes Us.  And you know what?  They're really good.  The mix is good, with a nice layering of Scott Hafer's blistering guitar work over Shane Murray's spacious keys and Alan Ashcraft's rock-steady drums.  Brandon Davis' vocals are also quite good, with his melodeath growl a little stronger than his clean tone, but the man is even and strong, so no worries.

I'm not gonna say ATS is bringing anything groundbreaking to the table, but I must say they're a great example of the genre, and a really talented bunch of dudes that know how to throw down some heavy tunes and that scratches my progmetal itch, know what I mean?  And with a nice picking up of the torch as it were for In Flames' lost melodic death metal top-of-the-heapery, I salute these Oregonians.

Standout Tracks: Descent & Discovery (fantastic solo), Tipping the Scales (epic intro) & In The Face of Adversity

- Genghis is air growling some vocals over here...