Caustic Lye
That That Is Is
6.5
Synopsis:
A initially awkward mix of metal genres, that with patience ultimately works rather well.
Review:
I had a really hard time trying to encapsulate Caustic Lye’s adventurous sound, as it basically mixes metalcore, drone, alt rock, nu metal and ambient into one strangely enjoyable release. Though not as caustic or solvent as the moniker, due to some acceptable rock clean vocals and choruses (though thankfully never emo or whiny), the gruff hardcore/metalcore shouts and spurts of moody, angular metal still give That That Is Is a definite and adventurous metal edge.
In all, I’m sort of reminded of 10 Years, Isis, Twelve Tribes, Poison The Well and Sevendust all wrapped into one ball of hard to define metal that, due to its variety might have a hard time finding an audience. However, after the initial vocal jitters of the surprisingly hefty “All This... (I said Under My Breath)”, the vocal mix settles with you and you can start appreciating the music as tracks like “Man, Machine and Godhead”, “Counting the Miles” and “A Burning Embrace” start to sit a little easier and mix rumbling antagonistic riffs while more metalcore-ish, commercial, steady rock riffs such as “Heart Eclipse Sun”, “Ringfinger Promise”, the very PTW-ish “Paradiso” and “Once Proven Careless” show the band's ear for melody.
A few ambient interludes scatter the album, but not in the piecemeal, emo acoustics sort of way as “West46", “Amerikan Idle”, “Oppenheimer’s Prayer” as well as the rounded epic “Thousand Points of Light” show Caustic Lye ready to mix in some other elements without sounding cliche. The oddly toned clean vocals and underwhelming production might put some off--they did me at first--but once the album starts to flow, they seem to fit into the whole of the album.
Not an album worth gushing over or seeking out but certainly something a little different and off the beaten path while still having some metal appeal.
