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An enjoyable nineteen minutes of technical Progressive Metal.-
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| Intervals: The Space Between |
Progressive Metal
Self-release
December 20th, 2011
- Begin - 2:26
- Still Winning - 2:21
- Duality - 3:45
- Sonar - 4:39
- Inertia - 6:49
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| Review Information |
Release length: 19:59
Review posted on January 24th, 2012
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| | Overall Score: 8.5/10 |
 
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
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The Space Between (2011)
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| Review |
The Space Between is the debut recording from the Toronto, Ontario based Technical Progressive Metal act Intervals. Released as a name your own price download available on their Bandcamp profile, and since dropped in late December of 2011 has earned a great deal of downloads, but yet not a lot of press discussing the release. Coming in at just over nineteen minutes of instrumental material in a strictly digital format, one can only wonder if this five song EP really puts this band's foot forward. Clearly the option of a free download is something aiding the band, but is it just that, or is there plenty of talent to be found within this release that warrants the attention of fans for this style?
The quality to the recording is pretty clean, and given the group's approach, it's something that needed to be done. Intervals adds in some synth effects to the music that gives it a slight astral kind of feel, but in a more mechanical manner. This isn't in the band's performance, but the general atmosphere, creating a stylish, digitized experience. The guitars have a nice heavy touch to them that works for some of the Groove influence passages that feeds into the more technical approach of the band as well, while bolstering a nice bass presence that adds to the overall heaviness of the music. The drum kit itself sounds pretty tight on top of all of this in the snare department, as well as with the bass kicks having a higher click to them. The cymbals come through nicely as well thanks to the crisp audio quality, and really sound great when meshed together with additional technological synth effects.
But with that audio quality, there isn't really much of an atmosphere other than some technology-based effects. "Begin" sets the tone for the release with some ambience and synth sounds that feed the feeling of floating freely amid an ocean of stars prior to some technical Groove chords kicking in at a mid-tempo pace. The album does seem to stick with this kind of vibe, though the sea element does seem to be lost shortly after, and just some of the mechanical elements do shine through. It's sad to see a potential tone for the album end up lost so quickly, but that doesn't really hurt the music on The Space Between that much. This is evident as "Begin" bleeds into "Still Winning," which takes on an aggressive tone with some impressive technical musicianship and a tight performance. The tempo is a little faster than how "Begin" ends, and the breakdown towards the end feels completely natural to the song and easily will find you wanting to join in with either a mosh pit or a dance pit, whatever your choice may be, even though it's largely just one chord played, but what variety do exist works in the band's favor for the closing of this rather short track.
With the exception of "Still Winning" which is shorter by five seconds, this release likes to build upon itself. The mechanical environment the effects give off become more noticeable and make a bigger impact to the music, the track lengths continue to grow, and the technical material often becomes more dynamic without going off into that dreaded territory of just showing off their skills and losing all flow whatever. "Duality" is a nice example of this with some of the slower, melodic passages that come into play, and how the intricate and fast guitar chords still work for the song to feel somewhat soothing and relaxing. These slower moments really become the most impressive, showing off what atmospheric landscapes actually do exist nicely whether there are technical chords like in this song, or not, such as the bass heavier moments found in "Sonar." The shifting between these slower passages and the faster moments of the recording are also well executed here, and everywhere else on the recording, making each song pretty fluid for such a diverse Progressive effort.
But of all the tracks, it's the closing song, "Inertia," that ultimately shows off the bands ability to weave a softer sound and grander atmosphere. While "Sonar" establishes this fact in some of the slower passages, this one does it without really putting much of a heavy bass emphasis on much of the material, though it's largely around the start of the track. About a third of the way in, Intervals does go back into the heavier Groove material once more, and it's actually a little disheartening to hear the rich, beautiful atmosphere go away so abruptly. Yes, it does appear again throughout the song, and the track itself is far from bad, but again this track seems to show the band kind of ignoring the highly suiting environment that was established around the start and gradually builds behind the scenes. The only gripe here is that the track does end up taking too long, and some of the building done within the song, such as from the start of the later breakdown to feed into said atmosphere starts of rocky and seems to take too long to reach the level it should. But, as the song fades, you do realize it makes for a nice way to wrap the album up, but the faults will have you a bit broken hearted over what could have been.
Intervals made a smart choice by making this digital effort a pay what you want download. The option of free will obviously appeal to more listeners who may be strapped for cash in this economy. But that's definitely not the only reason to grab this effort and discover the band. The Space Between may not be an awe-inspiring materpiece, but what is here is done very well. Each song is fluid from start to finish with well executed transitions, moments to breathe, technical musical skills that don't go too off-the-wall, a nice atmosphere that could have been richer, and plenty of moments that leave you relaxed, and even make you want to bang your head along. "Inertia" does leave the listener wanting a little more than what the band is given, but the ambient elements work well enough to make it a suitable closer. The Space Between may be a free download for now, but there is definitely enough quality to show some support and throw something the band's way.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
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