Release Details

LABEL N/A
RELEASED ON 2/1/2004

Myotonia

Self Titled

posted on 4/2004   By: Tim Pigeon

Fresh out of Oakland, CA, comes another metalcore band with plenty of energy and ambition. Myotonia was kind enough to send a five-song demo into MetalReview awhile back, and that turned out to be a wise move, as this young band shows potential and creativity. Fortunately, this isn’t the cookie-cutter metalcore that has been flooding the scene lately. Myotonia push the limits a bit by incorporating progressive, “math-metal” if you will, elements into their sound – a sound which is chaotic, yet controlled.

On the surface, they strike me as a subdued version of The Red Chord with a dash of the eclectic parts of The Dillenger Escape Plan. Mind you, this isn’t AS intense as either of those two fine acts. Clocking in at a marathon length of 16 minutes, the least I can do is look at each song.

Opener “1 A.D.” coaxes you in with a clean guitar intro before going off the deep end. A sick death metal groove ensues then switches over to choppy grind riffage, all the while, Joe Kirk (who has since left the band) screams wildly in a style all too familiar nowadays. Think of how the guy from Cannae sounds, that’s Joe’s style. Next up are two minutes of Meshuggah-inspired fun, entitled “It Had to be You”. Thick odd-time grooves give way to faster chunky riffs - A sure winner in the pits. “The Settlement” is the longest track, at five minutes. Again they open up with dark clean guitars, now adding some spoken-word, but then it goes downhill. They dive into a decent choppy section, but ride it out far too long, although I do like what they have going on with the backing guitar at 2:15. In the second half of the song, the screams are more tortured than before. I think this song would make a better closer, as it kills momentum in the middle of the EP. “Impressed with Yourself” pulls in influences from all over the map – jazzcore, The Crown, even a passage that sounds Dream Theater-ish. This is a fun track, even if it flows a little awkwardly. The final track, “Flashlight Blinds” follows the same basic formula as “1 A.D.”, and it kicks ass just as hard. Keep making songs like this.

Overall, this is a pretty respectable demo debut from Myotonia. If this band keeps maturing in their songwriting, they should certainly get signed. Go to their site and check out the demo mp3’s, particularly “1 A.D.” and “Flashlight Blinds”.

Related

Myotonia
Self Titled (2007)
7/1/2007