Epoch Of Unlight
The Continuum Hypothesis
9
Ah, I remember this band. A friend of mine used to play in a band with some guy who toured with them and Monstrosity along with Dimmu Borgir. As the story goes, apparently this guy played rhythm for them for a tour and eventually got himself beaten up by a variety of people on the tour, Nick Barker being one of them, for making a really awful joke about someone's daughter. So while that guy has gone on to form a somewhat unmentionable local band, Epoch of Unlight have gone on to develop into a remarkable group that's deserving of incredible praise.
Wow, are all their albums like this? Epoch of Unlight, whom I'm only casually familiar with, cleverly play lofty arranged thrash metal with half-growl/half-rasp vocals. I always got the impression they were more oriented towards the black metal side of things, but on their latest release, it's unmistakably thrash - even though the darker connotation remains. Clearly elevated above so many bands who only touch on a similar sound, The Continuum Hypothesis is impactful and full of first-rate, dizzying, riffing. They shove aside their contemporaries and move into the spotlight, borrowing from the Gothenburg greats who we're all tired of hearing about. They avoid the pitfalls of so many bands by disguising their influences with pronounced songwriting creativity. Half of what gives the record its progressive feel is the drumming, which is unfailingly complex but 100% malleable to their rhythm of the accompanying instruments. "Under Starside Skies" centers around a climbing and stuttering riff, but also erupts into a driving punk beat for a short, but very satisfying measure. And although "Argentum" is a great tune with a slight NWOBHM disposition, the spoken introduction kind of detracts a little from it. Something as simple as a slight delay could rectify the problem, but no matter, as you'll probably just as soon forget it ever happened around the time the impressive pull-offs enter, midway through the track.
The band's clearest strength, which they definitely draw the most attention to, is their ability to use their intricate playing to shape an entire melody. A real downfall for so many bands, there are an abundance of people in metal who seemingly come up with some sort of ho-hum idea which they build upon, or practically solo over. Epoch of Unlight steer far away from giving the impression that they were initially working with something basic and merely add layers, step by step. Guitar enthusiasts should note that despite their unconventional styling, there's even some strenuous solo work on "The End of All" that makes their already overwhelming method seem tame.
They'd fit perfectly on a tour with Arsis, if that's any kind of indication of what they're doing. So go and buy it. The Continuum Hypothesis is a huge cut-above all these painfully melodic Soilwork/At The Gates clones that are infesting every nook and cranny of metal today. Be proud that something this fantastic came out of the depths of Tennessee.
