Knife The Glitter CD Review

Knife The Glitter

The Alpha and Omega album release from this instrumental, progressive metal band from New Jersey. It’s their first and final, self-titled release which started in 2007 and was released late 2017. If you’re going to put out one album, this is the result you’d want!

A power trio comprising of Kevin Antreassian (The Dillinger Escape Plan) on guitar, Ryan Newchock on bass and Eli Litwin (John Frum) on drums, based from Northern New Jersey, each brings their own flair and style to the songs and a level of musicianship and melody that are sometimes lacking from a lot of prog releases these days.

The album opens with the longest track, Idiot City. Its starts in a dreamy, yet haunted, ambient state that lures you into a false sense of calm. It builds to fast tempo, with a dissonance that keeps you engaged then breaks down into a jazz fusion styled double bass filled section that sees a beautiful gritty tone to the bass clashing with the clean guitar. This leads to Gargle Clamp, which has a chaotic feel to it, almost like you’re fighting for breath beneath a giant clamp holding you underwater. Next up is Bumble Bee Infant. The killer riff in this song kicks in at the 43 second mark and leads through the song, injecting the fast paced and melodic passages with the frenetic sound this song evokes. Highly Electric Squirrel follows now with a more stable intro that the name may suggest. It has a controlled aggression to it, you can feel it build until it reaches the more subtle interlude before where it seems the song is reflecting the act of something cathartic, then culminating in the aftermath. Then The Plum Curtain comes in strong with that easily recognizable style of Kevin’s with a brutal breakdown, interspersed with little fills and riffs, reminiscent of Steve Vai. There’s a tangential feel to the song, it changes direction, then changes again, all the while maintaining a commonality.

The next song, Permanent Baby Snowpants is definitely unique to the album. It starts of in a jazz styled drum and bass beat, then enter the guitars and it changes direction, then changes back again. What you’re not expecting is the beautiful work of the Viola solo by Earl Maneein and Violin solos by Fung Chern Hwei. They add a touch of the far eastern style of music theory to the middle of the song, which works beautifully. At times with the almost synth style tone and feel, you can pick out an 80’s vibe. Kid Colossal has a tough act to follow, but it handles it well with a return to the aggression of previous tracks and again throws in a surprise with a Keyboard solo from Matt Mitchell which introduces an ethereal feel to the madness of the song. The penultimate track is Barnabas which is the shortest offering but feels complete. It’s heavy and unrelenting. The album wraps up with The Snake Charmer’s Anthem which to say again has a chaotic, driven start that evolves to a hypnotic beat and guitar melody mid way through the song which does hold even when it picks up into a full on heavy metal progressive onslaught.

The album will be everything an Instrumental prog metal listener could ever want. It is chaotic, its fast paced with many changes, evolving melodies and brutal breakdowns. It tangential at times, seen by the very song names, which is in keeping with the genre. The guest solos really add to the songs which introduce an element that compliment what the guys were try to achieve I think. There is a strong jazz undertone which adds to the complexity of the music. The drumming is beyond spectacular throughout the album and never once feels overdone. The bass is driving and the tone changes in relation to the guitar work perfectly. The guitars are, clear, precise, brutal and beautiful all at once. Kevin recorded the album at his own Studio, Backroom Studios and engineered it. With this team, you’d expect nothing short of brilliance and full professionalism. To the casual listener;  you may think its repetitions and drones at times. Give it more time, dissect the music. There is a lot going on at any one time, you’ll soon see the beauty in this album.

Knife The Glitter is:

Kevin Antreassian – Guitars

Eli Litwin – Drums

Ryan Newchok – Bass

Tracks:

Idiot City

Gargle Clamp

Bumble Bee Infant

Highly Electric Squirrel

The Plum Curtain

Permanent Baby Snowpants

Kid Colossal

Barnabas

The Snake Charmer’s Anthem