cetacean

Cetacean - "Outpour" (Premiere)

My least favorite thing about progressive metal is the quiet, two-minute long, possibly acoustic intro. This trope doesn’t entice the listener, it instead demands more attention than it possibly deserves. “We have a great song waiting for you, but first here’s some junk that you have to deal with for a short while. Don’t worry, it’ll be worth it!”

On their musical debut Los Angeles’ Cetacean ask for 14 minutes of your day, but they waste no time in getting down to business. “Outpour” kicks off with rockin’ stomp reminiscent of Intronaut’s early work but it soon simmers down to an ice-cold space-jazz cruise. More esoteric flourishes like Tuvan throat singing make way for the triumphant guitar harmonies that conclude the track–going back through “Outpour” and finding all the extra bits can actually become a fun game in and of itself. That’s a mark of quality of progressive metal: it rewards exploration. Cetacean offer plenty of treasures for curious listeners.

You can stream “Outpour” below. Cetacean’s debut EP Breach | Submerge will be available on January 29th via Apes Who Looked Up Records. Follow them on Facebook and pre-order the release on Bandcamp.

—Avinash Mittur