Granted, blending jazz and metal is not a new thing, and bands like Cynic, Atheist, and Pestilence paved the way for the style that Continuo Renacer play on this album back in the 90s. But that is a minor point, what is important here as whether or not the Spanish trio are good at what they do.
And they are.
They deliver the goods.
While the influence from Cynic and Atheist, and to some extent also Death, makes itself felt throughout the album, Continuo Renacer do contribute a lot of elements of their own, suc has the use of electronic effect, pianos, guitar synths, and organs (especially in the 15 minutes closing track 'The Newborn'). They also embrace some more extreme elements such as blastbeats, a couple of which pop up every now and then. And even if they didn't that wouldn't matter that much to me, because this is overall a style that I absolutely love.
The album is full of changes, odd time signatures, quirky guitar parts, equally quirky bass figures, and drumming with the dynamics of jazz and the chops 'n' power of rock/metal. The bass is central in the mix and has that warm jazzy fretless feel. And with Continuo Renacer being an instrumental act, they are not held back by a vocalist, they have the freedom to really let it rip - which they do. Especially the last track is a wonderful flurry of riffage, slapping and popping bass, mellow passages, synths and effects, brutal odd time signatures and so on.
The Great Escape is a pretty awesome slab of jazz metal which should definitely appeal to fans of Focus-era Cynic, Atheist, Acid Death, and also Spheres-era Pestilence as well as post-Human-era Death (although the two latter a more removed in style from Continuo Renacer's sound than the three former ones). Fans of prog tech extreme jazz metal should definitely check it out!
Track listing:
1. The Great Escape
2. Give Up Tomorrow
3. For Those Things To Come
4. Facing Fears
5. The Newborn
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