Bowl Ethereal (self-titled)

Word of warning: Turn off Crossfade Songs when you listen to this EP or you might miss it entirely.I like to think of my musical tastes as being eclectic. There are more bands out there than can possibly all be listened to, much less appreciated. So, I try to get a taste of every genre to see what I may be missing. This effort occasionally rewards with an interesting band like Bowl Ethereal that comes along every now and then that stands above the crowd a bit. While their music seems chaotic, it's actually more like a very precise, concentrated, tonal mood session.

Hailing from Virginia, duo Brian Metz (guitar/bass) and Pen Rollings (drums) have released a 7" that contains 6 songs, each the exact same abbreviated length (1:01). What results isn't as gimmicky as it sounds. Instead, it's like a portfolio of work that takes the best parts of songs and makes them whole songs in themselves. It's concentrated riffing that comes by design, as Pen and Brian decided they wanted to have songs that sounded like intros to bigger longer songs and just stopped. From this economy of songwriting, comes the half dozen tracks on their eponymous debut EP.

Whether this kind of approach will gain any traction for the band may as yet to be determined, but there's no question that there's some great sounds on this disc. Heavy, razor sharp riffs, raucous drum beating and no small amount of moxie in the context of math metal, where songs can often go on long tangents. One thing's for sure, their live shows could be seen during a coffee break. BONUS!

The Bottom Line: After years of self-imposed exile, influential musician Pen Rollings is back with a new band and some pretty damn fine - if pretty damn brief - tunes. Here's hoping this introspective, metallic stew is a long-lasting recipe.

- Genghis was just getting into this album when it ended (doh!)...