Essentia is a progressive death metal trio from Grand Rapids, Michigan. The EP in question, Perpetual Motion was released in August this year, but was according to the band not fully up to their standard on return from editing and mastering. They are currently working on new material for a full-length follow-up. I must say, if this debut represents a partially finished product, I can't wait to hear what 100% sounds like.
I'll knock a few things out of the way first. I do hear some of the (mild) recording issues on this EP. The production feels a bit unbalanced at times with a guitar part maybe a little too loud, the drums a bit too quiet, etc. For the style, it just seems like things could sound "fuller." There is also an odd voice at the end of one track, and I was sad to hear what could be a soaring post-rock rhythm guitar on "Tree of Fractals I" largely washed out of the mix.
But even despite these issues, Perpetual Motion still shows a group that has some major chops in both the playing and songwriting departments. The vocals are deep, harsh, and commanding. With the benefit of better equipment and studio magic, these death growls could be truly dominating. The same goes for the guitar, which is full of crazy, djenty groove. Riffs seem to start and stop at random, cranking out a fascinating progressive feel that is quite complex. And with all of these changes, the drums must keep up with a number of changing time signatures and pace changes.
The overall result ranges in style from progressive deathcore to technical death metal. There are even some parts, particularly on the intro to "Antahkarana" that reminded me of Deftones' chiller moments. These post-metal touches do a lot to give the album a pretty unique feel that I am, again, excited to see more of from Essentia. Given their dissapointment with the recording process this time around, we can reap the benefits by downloading Perpetual Motion for free, but any donations will help this talented group give us an even more impressive product next time around. Check out the stream below.