Wednesday 15 February 2017

Cegvera - Fractals (Album Review)


Release date: December 13th 2016. Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Fractals – Tracklisting

1.Varroa 05:23
2.2039 07:42
3.Natural Threats I 05:07
4.Natural Threats II 03:15
5.Herds 05:25
6.Refractive Errors 03:40
7.Fractals 06:27
8.Rise 06:18
9.After the Fracture 01:03


Band Members

Gerardo Arias - Guitar
Aaron Scrupps - Bass
Matt Neicho - Drums

Review

Cegvera is an Instrumental Psych Doom/Sludge Metal Band with the band creating a dark tale by fusing current political events into their music. Heavy, gloomy with an ever knowing eye on the world's current political climate. Cegvera have an air of intelligence around them. Sure to most folks they sound like a lot of other Instrumental Doom/Sludge Metal bands.

From opening track Varroa, you don't sense anything different though the music is gloomy and highly atmospheric. Give it a few moments and you will hear soundbytes from the classic movie Soilent Green. A chilling after thought with the sludgy and doomish post-metal vibes. The psychedelic environment allows Cegvera to create a more world weary environment with the bone-crunching riffs becoming more confident as time passes by.

Second track - 2039 - carries on the bass heavy distorted sound with minimal beats and sounds building up to a more fast paced style of sludge metal. The song does sound flat in places with the instrumental work being slightly less than impressive compared to the excellent opening track. Though Cegvera manage to pull things together for the final moments of the song with another superbly chosen soundclip to create an unsettling mood.

The following two tracks - Natural Threats I and Natural Threats II - are where Cegvera start bringing modern events into their music with a certain elected president making familiar infamous statements. Though this song was written a year ago as stated by Cegvera themselves. The music is what should be the main thing as this is perhaps one of the standout tracks on the album. Expect more spaced out fuzz laiden sludge riffs with Cegvera moving up a gear and playing a faster style of music.

Other songs such as Herds, Fractals and Rise carry on the instrumental sludge/doom riffs with more elements of political overtones that give the album a more unsettling edge. Apart from a few rough moments, the production is handled superbly well. The sound is loud, clear and crisp. It's refreshing to hear an instrumental album such as this.

As Fractals is a complex album with something important to say about the world around us. With a member of Vinnum Sabbathi in their ranks, you can hear familiar elements between these two great bands. Fractals are a brutally honest album and that's a rare thing for instrumental albums to achieve. If you're not interested in the overall political message of the album then you can rest easy and enjoy the heavy sludge riffs the band has created here. Fractals is a superb album. No Question.

Words by Steve Howe

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