Ysilik: Eunoia

The Minneapolis progressive technical death metal outfit Ysilik released their debut album Eunoia after forming in 2018 over a shared love of everything Between The Buried And Me, Carcass and the Top Gun Soundtrack. When I read that in their Bio it gave me a little smile, gotta love a bit of Top Gun. They also wanted to fuse video game inspired riffs with profound lyrical content and as they call it “cutting edge� bass playing and drumming.

Musically, Ysilik combines technical riffing with plenty of progressive and melodic elements and adventurousness. The album opens with “A Stranger To Myself� which comes out heavy, with some great death metal riffs and growls. It’s energetic and powerful and the riffs and drumming are engaging. About half way through the track, it shifts gears into prog metal with a cool snaking bassline that's then joined and complemented by the guitars. “The Meat and Thresher� continues with a bit more of a plodding feel to it even though the riffs and playing is still very technical and complex. There are some cool moments throughout the track but not quite as cool as the previous one. “Paleblood� seems to change direction completely with a somewhat shoegaze-like dreamy opening sequence before the heaviness returns but while retaining the melodicism. I really like the interplay on those riffs when it kicks in and later when the dual guitar lines lead into a short lead break…very cool stuff. “Laurentian Divided� returns to the slower more plodding feel again, and again the playing remains technical. It’s a somewhat strange feature of this album that it can be technical and plodding at the same time. However, the song builds nicely and becomes more engaging as it progresses. At the song’s midpoint we get some nice fusion elements thrown in and I really like that element to the band's approach. I think it’s the pace of the song that gives it the plodding feel, perhaps live if they played it a few BPMs faster it would feel a touch more energetic and lively because the music is definitely creative and interesting. “Your Sorrow Pins You To This Place� begins with a cool guitar passage but it sounds as if it’s being played at the limit of the guitarist's abilities, and I’m all for bands pushing themselves but it does ruin the emersion a touch when you can picture the guy struggling to nail it. That being said I don’t want to take away from the cool ideas themselves and Ysilik certainly has plenty of the youthful sounding, creative power following through this one too. Overall it’s a killer track. “Vanity Wounds� continues in a bludgeoning fashion, and here I can hear a bit of the BTBAM influence. “Reptile Intelligence� opens with a great prog metal progression before the onslaught restarts again and it’s another great track. And finally the album wraps up with “Midnight Hour� which almost has a bit of a 90’s grunge feel to it. Certainly unexpected, but it’s pretty interesting how they integrate it with the technical and progressive death metal elements.

I’m always a sucker for something that's a bit more on the unconventional side of metal and these guys definitely fit that description. They have plenty of creative talent on display throughout Eunoia and I think if they can stay together they’ll be a band to watch as they further develop and refine their sound. The production is pretty good and has a fairly analog sound for the most part however there are a few moments where the sound thins out a touch and it sounds a bit demo-like. Anyway with all that said I think this is a great debut effort from a band that clearly has a lot of creative talent and I’m keen to see what they do next.

Chester Yourczek- Vocals
Paul Esch- Guitars
Greg Feinberg- Bass
Aaron Lanik- Drums

Tracklisting:
1. A Stranger To Myself
2. The Meat and Thresher
3. Paleblood
4. Laurentian Divided
5. Your Sorrow Pins You To This Place
6. Vanity Wounds
7. Reptile Intelligence
8. Midnight Hour

Added: June 6th 2022
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 573
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]