Details
Produced by SMALL. Engineered and mixed by Francis Caste. Mastered by Allan Douches at West West Side Studio, New York City.
Band
- Tersim Backle—Vocals
- Wanted—Guitars
- Psychiatric Ward—Bass
- Unknown—Drums
Tracks
- Forlorn
- Few drops
- Stray highway
- Wild child
- Influence(s)
- Entwined mind
Review
It’s funny how an album cover can influence your expectations of what it might sound like. This cover is white, simple, sparse with what looks like a few droplets of water on the front, and now with added fractals on the back cover. I wasn’t expecting much from the EP, to be honest.
No power without control, the only release from French metallers Small, is very much in the ballpark of Philip H Anselmo-fronted groove metal bands Pantera and Superjoint (formerly Superjoint Ritual) and I daresay is a little more consistent than the latter. Guitars and drums are tight, the bass skips along distinctively behind, and Tersim Backle’s vocals are voiced gruffly but there is depth and character to them. It all comes together very nicely.
The EP opens powerfully (and, I guess, if the title is to be believed, then also controllably) with “Forlorn” (track 1) that features a bouncing, tick-tocking riff that recurs throughout the song. The riff morphs and adapts throughout the track adding interest and variety. It’s an impressive opening.
“Few drops” (track 2) kicks off with bass and drums before a flurry of ranting vocals powers the song forward. Behind it the guitars start and stop creating space. Things slow down for a very latter-day Pantera-style riff. This is good stuff.
“Stray highway” (track 3) opens with white noise, and a slightly distorted, picked six-note riff. The song doesn’t have the same strong hooks as the first two, and is quite progressive in its rambling journey but it’s still a good track.
“Wild child” (track 4) features an interesting bendy riff that gives way to a ‘machine-gun’ riff that then morphs into a kind of metal-ska bouncing riff that powers you through the song.
“Influence(s)” (track 5) dances about for a bit with a call and answer-style riff. Then power. Barking vocals. And a twisting and turning riff that goes in stops and starts.
The final song, “Entwined mind” (track 6) has perhaps the most melodic vocals of any of the tracks on this EP, and again uses a very bouncy, almost ska-style riff that slows down and digs in every now and then into a ticking riff.
Conclusion
I’m impressed. This is one of those releases that I wish that I’d discovered months ago, simply so that I could choose to listen to it more.
It is undoubtedly influenced by Pantera and Superjoint but it is certainly not the poorer for that. In the absence of any new releases from either this is a welcome addition to my collection.
Review score: 98%