Some of you guys who have found yourselves in the depths of my blog may recognize the name Vibraveil. Back in June a brave soul by the name of Nardo requested that I listen to his band's album. Well here we are, 4 months later, and the young lad Nardo decided he wanted to come back for more. This time around, however, he sent me his bands first ever EP, which had since been remastered and remixed. The EP is titled Isotopia, and going into it I thought I knew generally what to expect. I thought that because I knew Vibraveil's newest material, then I probably knew what this first EP would sound like. But boy was I wrong.
The four tracks on this EP are a bit of an auditory Whitman's Sampler. Each track is wildly different from the one before it. The opening track "Inside the Windmill," quite honestly, was the weakest of the bunch. And as soon as the song started I knew it would be. I mean, come on dude... Rain? Really? Bro. It reminds me of The Arctic Monkeys maybe, only with the tempo lowered considerably. The balance between the vocals and the instrumentation on this track works quite nicely, however.
Track 2 was something quite different. "Everyone Loves Classical Guitar" is appropriately titled, as it proves to be a beautifully composed acoustic instrumental. The first minute of the song is quite evocative, as hearing it puts me on the back of a horse riding through the old west. My only critique of this track is a harsh and abrupt transition, or tempo change, just over one minute in. Once it returns to the original melody at about 1:40ish, I'm brought right back in.
Track 3. "The Terminal Tidemaster," AKA #4 on the top 10 rejected Batman villains list. The composition features a lovely melody, in fact the riff is quite hypnotic at first. Like a Spanish guitar method of playing. It almost puts me on a nice, tranquil beachfront. My issue with this song is the vocals. The vocals on this track are turned up very high, so they almost cloak that Spanish guitar entirely. The lyrics aren't amazing, but for a band's first EP this is entirely forgivable as the songwriter likely hasn't found their voice yet. With the high notes resonating through the thinner strings of the guitar, I am looking for a deeper toned voice to balance it out. What we are given instead is a mismatched tone, where the vocals and guitar are almost competing for the spotlight.
Track 4 is the grand finale. The title track. "Isotopia." The 9 and a half minute epic that opens with what sounds like the intro sound from old Looney Tunes shorts. The riff and rhythm that follow sound almost exactly like that of "Stray Cat Strut" by The Stray Cats. Perhaps at a slower tempo. Call me crazy, but I think he's even singing in a similar style and register to Brian Setzer himself. Somewhere around 2 minutes begins a very unique guitar solo-jam-breakdown thing, that I would listen to for the whole 9 minutes and 36 seconds.
At the end of the day, upon reaching the conclusion of this newly-remastered EP, I can see how they arrived at the metal Pearl Jam / alternative Tool sound that I found on Dissolute. There really is no definitive way I can make an overarching statement about the whole EP, as it doesn't really come together as one cohesive unit. Like any EP it is simply a collection of songs to introduce listeners to the band's unique sound, and this EP certainly accomplishes that. If this EP was all I knew from Vibraveil, I know for sure that I would not have the slightest idea what to expect from their forthcoming debut album.
Hats off to you, Nardo and company. You've come a long way from Isotopia, and I very much look forward to hearing what comes next. The rating you see below might sting a little, but keep in mind that this is your early work, and you've grown considerably since then. Keep fighting the good fight.
Isotopia - Vibraveil
1. Inside The Windmill
2. Everyone Loves Classical Guitar
3. The Terminal Tidemaster
4. Isotopia
Favorite Track: Everyone Loves Classical Guitar
Least Favorite Track: Inside The Windmill
Rating: 5.6
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