Miosis - Albedo Adaption
Lion Music
Alternative/Progressive Rock/Metal
7 songs ()
Release year: 2009
Miosis, Lion Music
Reviewed by Thomas
Album of the month

Have you ever felt entirely different about two bands that sound very very similar? How the other one manages to capture your ear at an instant, while the other one floats silently by, despite being much the same, no matter how hard you try to get it? This is the case between Tool and Miosis for me. Tool never clicked, and still won’t, while Miosis proved to be something I liked from the very first moment. These guys label themselves as dark progressive rock/metal, which is probably right even though I would put this in the alternative metal camp. Now, where other progressive bands look to dazzle our minds with breathtaking and virtuous musicianship, these guys pours out their negative feelings with dark and emotive songs styled with progressive elements and depressive yet inspiring melodies. The parallels to the mentioned Tool and Isis can easily be drawn, although there are also some nods to the Norwegian melodic hard-rockers that is Audrey Horne. Being formed in 2005, Miosis have already released one EP, and built a reputation as a splendid live-band both home and beyond the borders.

From the first building moment of State of Lacuna, Miosis succeeds in touching your mind with an inevitable darkness. The song builds up in intensity like a raging hurricane and breaks down to establish a firm fundament for the solid vocals which ultimately reminds me of Audrey Horne front-man Toschie. As well as being fairly melancholic, Miosis knows how to season this before it slips into fairly boring waters. They aim for a balance between a gloomy and depressive atmosphere and a healthy dose advanced rhythmic passages. There are however songs here like the wiry Benandanti that tends to drag on a bit. They tend to hide healthy variation under the same repeated melody line and riff over and over again which can be extremely tiresome if you’re in the wrong mood. Then again, they’re experts on building repeated riff sections into climaxes by continuous adding new elements to the various sections. I’m a big fan of this, since it adds to the excitement as well as pleasing the ear. Take the excellent The Lucid or the just as great Red as some examples on how to execute repeated riffing without making it as boring as watching the grass grow.

As far as the musicianship is concerned, this is an excellent display of skillful playing without the show-off solos or the intense wailing operatic vocals. The riffs are creative, and the steady rhythm work by the drummer and the bassist backs everything up with complex beats and rumbling accuracy, while the mighty keys add to the huge atmosphere they’re focusing on with every inch of their mind. This is mostly advanced yet still entirely lucid and not at all hard to get if you pay enough attention. The music of Miosis is all about creating moods for the depressing and somewhat self-reflecting poetry of the lyrics, their only aim is to create images of the darkest corner of the soul through music and lyrics. If you appreciate emotive and mid-paced music with an audible sense of melody, Miosis are awaiting to clutch your heart with their black-scaled fist.

Where other bands I listen to can be described as rapid, fast-travelling with ripping intensity, this is much more comparable to a voyage, a journey through the dark corners of the mind where depression and sadness are central factors. I’ve learned that this might not be for everyone, and dedicated fans of straightforward fast and face-ripping metal might not appreciate this as much as I do, and maybe not at all. If you’re dark at heart, and you have your not so bright moments every once in a while, this may be a good place to find relief. This caught me completely by surprise as this isn’t something I’d normally like, and turned out to be something right up my alley. Highly recommended.

MySpace
Killing Songs :
State of Lacuna, Flow, The Lucid, Red
Thomas quoted 90 / 100
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