Derivate

Song: Movement V: Cycle Band: Derivate Location: Geneva, Switzerland Date of Release: 29th November 2014 Genre: Progressive Metal Reviewer: Thall For Fans Of: Baroness, Mastodon, The Ocean Collective Why They Aren’t Famous: They are from the most neutral country in the world.(But at least they actually have a word for victory…I’m looking at you, France!) Well it’s good to be back for another year of reviewing bands and telling them how shit they are. Lets just get straight into things. ‘Derivate’ are a band from a country that has a big plus sign on their flag yet they feel indifferent to everyone. They make beautifully crafted watches, indulgent chocolates and also have OP Pikemen on Age of Empires 3. Switzerland can now also add that they also produce well-composed progressive metal. Movement V (Five, 5): Cycle is part of a conceptual EP that these bunch of bankers released at the exposition of this year. The full version of this song nearly approaches the 9-minute mark but the music video is trimmed for budget benefit I am guessing… If you enjoy raspy clean vocals, standard tuning and triplet-pulsating bass drums – you will enjoy this song. As soon as I heard the chugging bottom E-String, it instantly brought joyous tears to my eyes like listening to Opeth or Sylosis. However once you grasp the compounded feel of the song, you start to acclimatise yourself to the Baroness/Mastodon American prog feel whilst also maintaining that European chug vibe. The rhythmical patterns in the instrumental are as tight as a frigid teenage girl whilst the Troy Saunders-esque vocal syncopation over the top with the resonated tonic note provides a fantastic complimentary voicing. It does not clash and blends really well. The guitars both harmonised well with the use of different modes and changing from natural, harmonic minors and fuck it they even go to relative major at points. The composition from this band is on par with maestros in conservatories around the world. Not only with the theoretical side of things but also the practical too. The dynamic transitions between the calamitous resonance from the drums and distortion to the blissful, heavenly clean parts. The clean tapping parts were probably the perfect compliment to showcase me to the band that they are musically diverse pulling in all their influences together from across the world. I must commend the percussionist of this band for knowing when to increase the virtuosity of the drums and also knowing when to cruise and let the melody take over. A big downfall I find with some smaller prog bands is that the drummer does too much and drones out the other qualities of the band. You don’t find this here, the diverse cymbals are in good taste and kick drum and snare are not over-done. The overall sound of the drums was well balance and I could identify every cymbal when the little bells and splashes were intricately placed between the crash and ride and also when the china came stampeding through. The vocals as mentioned before have a nice raspy tone to them that finds comfort with the tonic note. Something found similar that you find with Mastodon and Baroness. In fact the whole vocal element is basically the core of those bands mentioned. These guys however aren’t a straight off rip-off band that you would think. There are some great other influences pulled in that I gather. The vocal and instrumental rhythmic placements remind me of Gojira at points because of the consistent triplet chugging whilst also the more elaborate harmonies remind me of something that Sylosis would do. There really is a truly unique mixture found in Derivate that balances a mix of American and Scandinavian prog whilst also containing a Western European influenced form of metal. I am a little saddened that I wasn’t provided with any lyrics because I really do appreciate this vocal style. It would be beneficial for listeners to be identified with the conceptual and contextual themes that the band is trying to send across. The last thing I would’ve liked is at climatic endpoints of the phrase would be a slight transition into harsher style of vocals. It felt like the vocalist was holding back to provide a bit more edge from the tonal singing into a tonal scream. The only instrumental section I found uneasy in the whole song was the sudden change into an electronic beat with the clean guitar. Despite loving the chord progression, the electronic side of things threw me off guard as a listener. I enjoyed the natural organic vibe throughout the whole song. The only thing that saved it was the fact that it transitioned to my favourite part of the song. The outro. I am normally not an avid fan of a fade-out but this was perfect. The vocals started to melodically create some catchy pitch shifts and then the harmonised guitars came in… This final section of the song was perfect, it provided a mix of British and American Metalcore wit the rhythmical and melodic vibe. There is no other way I would want the song to finish, it reminded me of listening to ‘Reject Yourself’ by Killswitch Engage. This final outro finally made me seal my opinion on their songwriting ability. They fucking nailed it! I think I am going to have to add these guys on the iPod rotation. ‘Derivate’ have provided a solid composition to start off my year of reviews. I surprisingly didn’t shit on them in fact I enjoyed every listen and learnt something new every time. If you enjoy Mastodon, Baroness and anything within the progressive genres you will appreciate ‘Cycle’ and maybe even get emotionally attached to it. I am definitely keeping these guys on my shortlist for 2015 and all you European readers, I think you should too because I think this would sound awesome live. Shame about not providing any lyrics… Please send them! Vocals – Cleans 7.5/10 Guitars: 9/10 Bass: 6.5/10 Drums: 9/10 Production: 7/10 Lyrics: :( /10 Songwriting: 9/10 Overall IPHYB Rating: 7/10 -1 point for not providing lyrics. Personal Enjoyment Factor: 8/10 – Really enjoyed the main progressive vibe. Go check out their full EP HERE. You can check out their Shortened version embedded below or you can check out the full version HERE 10.00/10 (100.00%) 5 votes Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterGoogle+Share on StumbleUponShare on RedditEmail to someoneShare on LinkedInDigg thisshare on Tumblr Share This Post Thall Derivate