No Consequence

IO

Written by: SC on 31/03/2013 00:37:35

Three years have gone by since UK metal band No Consequence made their attack on the metal scene with their fantastic debut album “In The Shadow Of Gods” and a lot has happened to the band’s sound since then. Their second and twelve track long album “IO” is brighter, with loads of high-tuned guitar riffs, and the deep growling vocal is almost gone in favour of a lot more clean vocals. This change in sound has opened up the possibilities for No Consequence allowing them to take more chances and develop their image.

No Consequence has in my ears moved their soundscape from a focused djent point of view to now also include more progressive parts letting the band play more openly and diversified and making the ride through their universe grander. Fundamentally the sound is based on the ferocity of metalcore with great speed and gritty guitars and loads of breakdowns. These gritty guitars are also characterized by the crucial off-beat playing of djent, and all instruments see time acting as percussion. However, when it comes to the progressive part it is often really different from person to person what one finds as progressive in this particular piece of music. Personally, I find the progressive part of “IO” in their allowance of the brighter notes in some of the technical breakdowns and the longer lasting guitar solos solidly delivered by Dan Reid and Harry Edwards, as well as in the more common combination of Kaan Tasan’s shouting and clean vocal. With the shouting as the dominant factor it merges the different parts of the lyrics together and often giving them their own rhythm. Sometimes one can even hear some low tuned electronics making the soundscape more bombastic and it actually gives “IO” an extra dimension of support and a great example of all of this together is to be found on the track “Name Your Price”.

Production wise “IO” is really well done, allowing the small details in the complex drumming by Colin Bentham to stand clear, and letting the bass guitar be a nice voluminous factor creating a multi-dimensional sound. Tom Parkinson’s bass guitar is especially clean and sometimes almost jazzy, like in the grandiose ballad “Sentiment” which draws parallels to Opeth’s complex structures in the slow theatrical pieces combined with an acoustic guitar intro. Negative critique has to be pointed towards the clean vocal though because it seems to sound a bit forced and it raises the question of whether the vocal can be delivered live or not, but alongside this criticism it has to be said that the shouting vocal sounds just fine. Killswitch Engage’s lead singer Jesse Leach has the same problem yet he delivers the clean vocal in a way that sounds like that he is aware of this conflict and Tasan here just seems to miss this awareness when performing his part.

Despite this issue “IO” is a really great release, giving No Consequence new life and taking the band to new heights as they make their way onto the metal scene. When this is said, some old fans of the harsh and more brutal sound on the previous record might resign from the new direction, yet it just makes way for new things to come and I personally find the band's courage to move forward commendable!

8

Download: Name Your Price, Bury The Debt, Sentimental
For The Fans Of: After The Burial, Protest The Hero, Born Of Osiris
Listen: facebook.com

Release Date 01.04.2013
Basick Records

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