Extol - Blueprint Dives (CD)
- 2005 Century Media/Solid State
- Sealed CD with hold punch in barcode
Dive into this album and get ready to have your ears enveloped in a blissful trance of melodious darkness.
The verses are generally composed of beautiful, utterly sophisticated melodies that grace the ears with meticulous chordal arrangements. Combined with Peter Espevoll’s hauntingly smooth vocals, the result is a series of elegantly crafted tunes.
The musical twists and turns in every track make for an audial roller coaster—not a coarse or bumpy ride, but a smooth, effortless journey through gothic castles; dark, cold forests; and night skies.
These are the images that are evoked as one finds himself captured by the bewitching harmonies—a grandiose aura of majestic night-time gloom.
Blended with the melodies are poignant growls and screams that conjure up visions of demons “flying through the sun of one’s eye”; a man “confined in a straightjacket,” “entangled in cobweb,” clamoring for the downfall of Satan as “his demons consume the death sedative.”
The Blueprint Dives, had more a ambient and melodic approach inspired by bands like Cult of Luna (I'm a post-rock/post-metal nerd) or artists like Devin Townsend (who is partly responsible for my expanded tastes in music), I naturally wanted to hear it. After one listen online, I knew I had to buy the album ASAP. And what a purchase it is...
While many Extol fans disliked this album due to its divergence from their previous roots in melodeath, unblack and thrash metal, I came from the lighter side of metal originally. However, I've been really digging the heavier side of metal as of late, being into metalcore, death metal, deathcore, etc. This album strikes a good balance between the heavier and more melodic sides of metal. This album is still a metal album, but it's definitely appealing more to the lighter side of things which is a major part of why I enjoy it. This album has a very strong progressive metal edge that, at times, reminds me of bands like Textures (another great prog metal band).
