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Sometimes, when there's not a lot of releases to be reviewed or when we don't feel like listening to the genres in our inbox, we check out some young bands on bandcamp or facebook. Last night I did some facebook scrolling and encountered Caves Of Steel again. I noticed this band a day earlier and listened to one of their songs. On the exact same moment I clicked on the link on their facebook page, I received an e-mail. It was one of the bandmembers, asking me if I wanted to write a review about their latest album. So here we are...Caves Of Steel is an instrumental rock band from Norway. They have been around for a few years now
and recorded an e.p. and a full-length before Revisioned. The music on Revisioned can best be
described as a post-rock/metal hybrid with a mathrock attitude. Most of the songs are uptempo or at least have some serious rock 'n' roll passages. However, they maintain a minimalistic approach to this music. There's no need to overcomplicate things or to put immense layers of soundscapes over one another.
The album opens with 'Parallax', a nice piece of rock music that actually has little to do with post-
rock. Yet, it really is a great track. In 'Dunning-Kruger' the band starts showing their post-rock
talents, something they continue doing during the songs that follow. What strikes me the most about these songs is the naked feel, as if they are stripped down after being written. Even in the heaviest parts, the songs don't 'blow-up' in a wall-of-sound. Instead, they maintain well varied pieces of music without the need for a sonic assault.
This sober and modest approach makes Caves Of Steel a very refreshing band. The songs are highly enjoyable pieces of music, played with a lot of enthousiasm and a lot of musical craftsmanship. However, besides the usual post-rock elements (the exact same elements that made Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky and God Is An Astronaut into the headliners they are today) these Norwegians aren't afraid to experiment a little with their sound. Here and there I head some industrial influences as well,mainly in the song 'Codeine'. On other occasions, there seems to be a hint of jazz ('The Kentucky Derby' and progressive rock ('Silver Bullet').
Caves Of Steel worked hard on this album and they were right to do so. These days, in the post-rock scene, you have to do something to stand out between the thousands of other
bands. This trio does that by reaching back to the early beginnings of the genre, when it was just evolving from shoegaze. From there they build their own style, calm but with a raw edge, exactly like we love it in this household. As mentioned in a conversation just now, this sounds like a heavy version of Alice In The Cities, another band we adore.
In short: Revisioned is an excellent post-rock album, well worth your attention. It has enough
variation to keep it interesting, even for a few consecutive listens. So, welcome this gem into your collection. You won't be disappointed...
and recorded an e.p. and a full-length before Revisioned. The music on Revisioned can best be
described as a post-rock/metal hybrid with a mathrock attitude. Most of the songs are uptempo or at least have some serious rock 'n' roll passages. However, they maintain a minimalistic approach to this music. There's no need to overcomplicate things or to put immense layers of soundscapes over one another.
The album opens with 'Parallax', a nice piece of rock music that actually has little to do with post-
rock. Yet, it really is a great track. In 'Dunning-Kruger' the band starts showing their post-rock
talents, something they continue doing during the songs that follow. What strikes me the most about these songs is the naked feel, as if they are stripped down after being written. Even in the heaviest parts, the songs don't 'blow-up' in a wall-of-sound. Instead, they maintain well varied pieces of music without the need for a sonic assault.
This sober and modest approach makes Caves Of Steel a very refreshing band. The songs are highly enjoyable pieces of music, played with a lot of enthousiasm and a lot of musical craftsmanship. However, besides the usual post-rock elements (the exact same elements that made Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky and God Is An Astronaut into the headliners they are today) these Norwegians aren't afraid to experiment a little with their sound. Here and there I head some industrial influences as well,mainly in the song 'Codeine'. On other occasions, there seems to be a hint of jazz ('The Kentucky Derby' and progressive rock ('Silver Bullet').
Caves Of Steel worked hard on this album and they were right to do so. These days, in the post-rock scene, you have to do something to stand out between the thousands of other
bands. This trio does that by reaching back to the early beginnings of the genre, when it was just evolving from shoegaze. From there they build their own style, calm but with a raw edge, exactly like we love it in this household. As mentioned in a conversation just now, this sounds like a heavy version of Alice In The Cities, another band we adore.
In short: Revisioned is an excellent post-rock album, well worth your attention. It has enough
variation to keep it interesting, even for a few consecutive listens. So, welcome this gem into your collection. You won't be disappointed...