Peculiar Three - Leap of Faith
Band: Peculiar Three
Album: Leap of Faith
Release
date:13. April 2020
Record
label: self released
Genre: Heavy metal / progressive rock
From: Livadia, Greece
The band consists of Valantis Dafkos - Lead & Backing Vocals, BassPanos Karkanas - Guitars, KeysParis Gatsios - Drums. They describe themselves both as alternative metal and “hard 'n' heavy rock / prog trio”. In addition, there is some old school melodic metal here as well as elements of heavy progressive rock. At times they make me think of Warlord and at times of Porcupine Tree, so there is quite a range here.
There is big variation between songs, and if one said it was a split disc, between an old school metal band and a prog/alternative band, I would believe it. While most would complain about such variation in songs, I find it quite cool, especially when the band goes from one style into the other during a song.
This band is definitively for those that want to be surprised and hear something new. I find their sudden twists in the songs to be refreshing and captivating, making me curious about what will happen next, like the addition of saz, an oriental string instrument, on the 2nd song, which I find quite cool.
At the same time, this band keeps the songs quite easy-listening. The twists and changes always serve the overall song and the songs are not made difficult just to play something difficult.
While there are some quite nice solos and lead guitar parts on the songs, the songs are mostly riff driven. Some of it reminds me of old Lake of Tears, but without the synths and organs. There are clearly some doom influences, particularly apparent on the 4th song.
The drums are more in the rock realm than in the metal realm, but fit the songs well. My only complaint is that some of the cymbals are a bit too low in the mix.
The vocals fit well to the music, mostly laying in a mid range the singer seems to be quite comfortable in.
The bass
guitar isn’t very prominent in the mix except of some intros. I think a more
focused bass sound could be nice, on the other hand the current bass production
is good for supporting the guitar riffs.
The production is well done. Quite wet, it makes the music feel as a coherent
whole.
While each song is quite good, I think some more variation, either in choice of sound or in song composition could improve the album as at the end of the album, the music starts feeling a bit too similar. If the bonus track, Calibans End, was in stead track 7, and then the last song finished the album, this would provide the needed variation in my opinion.
The bonus track is very different from the other songs. It’s a symphonic song without guitar and bass, so it’s understandable to want to keep it as a bonus. It’s still a cool song, and I’m happy it was included.
To sum up, this album was quite interesting to listen to, and I’m quite pleased with what I hear. There are some parts that are a bit unpolished, but overall an interesting concept that I will follow the development of with great interest.
You can
support the band by buying their album at: https://peculiarthree.bandcamp.com/
And follow them on https://www.facebook.com/peculiarthree/
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