Textures (Netherlands (Tilburg, North Brabant) )

Textures - Silhouettes [2008] (Progressive / Death / Thrash Metal)
Lable : Listenable Records

 Textures is, simply put, epic. No matter which way you look at them, Textures always has a grand scope by which their music travels. Each song has it's own story to tell through its individual parts, and each part is wide reaching.

Some songs carry the definite Meshuggah-ish "Let's put this in a pointless time signature" influence, but they don't get carried away to the point where you're not completely sure where the real rhythm is; the songwriting still is the biggest focus. Obviously, some songs are better than others, though; "Laments of an Icarus" is, for me, a little too much like Meshuggah to really enjoy fully. Luckily though, this isn't a problem for many other songs.

One personal highlight for me listening to this is the way the drums groove. The 3/4 swinging of "State of Disobedience" wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for Stef Brok's incredible ease behind a kit. The jazzy nature of his percussion is great at any time of the album you'd care to play; the man's a fucking rapist on drums.

Not to say the other members of the band don't deserve mention. The distorted crunch of the guitars and bass are best described as heavy, yet classy; they don't overdo the craziness, but rather reign it in when the song requires it. The keyboards are another great element, adding the key atmospherics to tracks like "Awake" that make them insta-classics.

Which brings me to the album's defining statement; proof that screaming and singing can fit in the same song; the song that should be so much bigger than it is; the epic, the crazy, the insanely catchy "Awake." Buying the entire album is worth it for this one track. Everything good about Textures is right here, in these four minutes and ten seconds: the beautiful melodies, the Meshuggah-styled insanity, the groove and, most importantly, the great, epic songwriting. It all coalesces here for one of the best songs of 2008, if not this entire decade. Note how I didn't say "best METAL songs." "Awake" transcends simple genre distinctions and gets stuck in your head more than almost any other song you'll hear for a long time.


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