COLISEUM
No Salvation
(Relapse)

TERHEN
Eyes Unfolded
(Firebox)

OXBOW
The Narcotic Story
(Hydra Head)

THESE ARE:
Scare Tactics
(Hold True)

TOMAHAWK
Anonymous
(Ipecac)

CAPITAL
Homefront 

(Revelation)

GET BACK UP
Weathering the Storm

(Organized Crime)

MORE REVIEWS

Hailing from Atlanta, GA comes this trio of fuckers. And I say fuckers because they fuck with prog rock, they fuck with heavy metal, they fuck with DC hardcore, they fuck with punk, and I am probably missing a couple of genres that surely have been fucked with already. So at this point all they have to do is worry about contracting STD’s. For a band as bluntly heavy and organic, I am surprised Light Pupil Dilate sound so refreshing. “Prana” the astounding opening song of this their second album following their Vert Records’ (drummer Michael Green’s label) release Cascades, goes through fauna and flora only to eventually find itself at the coast, maybe confronted with suburban ugliness and turning itself inside out through relentless tribal drumming and a heartfelt and aggressive vocalization.

The vocals apparently come from all three angles. Or at least from two. I am not 100% on this one. Obviously, the idea is to have a colorful palette; so we got our main throat, aggressive, raspy but legible, somewhat easy to relate to, brutal and yet a bit distant. Not unlike a bully with a soft heart. And we also got our more normal vocals, we can totally relate to this; they are inviting and match the more progressive and classy aspects of Light Pupil Dilate. “Big Open” is big on that; space guitars twinkle transparent waters, while clean and totally prog-friendly add to the complications with well-dropped melodies.  Snake Wine is great; top notch musicianship, top notch inventiveness. I like to complain a lot, so I would have liked a better recording. The work of Matt Washburn is not an absolute letdown but it does feel as if Snake Wine has lost in all fronts because of it. This could have been more powerful, have more bottom and be more crisp. Something would have been gained. 

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