Hailing from North Carolina, USA, Dark Design are a slightly yet heavily proggy collective of dudes with 5 years under their belts as double D. This disc is an apparent sampler promo of a full-length album that was due during the summer of 2012 but as far as the might of the interweb can inform me, that goal has not yet been met. Hopefully said goal is still on the horizon for this 3-track work displays clear potential.

The instrumental chops that the guys possess are of a notably high level, most of all during the tastefully widdly guitar solos. Nothing mind-bogglingly brilliant but enjoyably solid nonetheless. I guess that characterization could apply to the entire album. Meditations opens up the record with a swarm of guitar licks and eventual double bass drum-pounding that compliments the aggression of the tune nicely. Singer Andrew Bertrand has a more than adequate set of pipes, providing a slightly deeper-than-average heavy metal croon that he diversifies with some aggro harshness. (Welcome to) You’re Doom falls in between slightly as the mid-tempo churner is mostly memorable for the great clanking of the groovy bass throughout. The album closing Spice World (sorry, no Spice Girls-references to be found) works in a Middle Eastern flavor that makes the track stand out for sure. Elsewhere, a few melodies also remind me of Iced Earth a bit – never a bad thing. Tempo trickery is at its highest during this track, but does not thankfully get self-indulgent.

Commenting on the production job within is a bit difficult because it is explicitly stated that this disc is a “promo mix” release of material to still come in a more polished form. As I said, the bass sounds great and generally there is good balance going on. The drums may feel a little tingy in comparison from time to time, so hopefully the assumed full-length will pay attention to that.