Search - Dysrhythmia :: Pretest

Real instrumental metal masterpiece

Viktar Kanasevich | frederick, md | 06/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This band looks like in a lot of ways like King Crimson ontheir instrumentals especially the B*****d. except theyre much heavier in a lot of moments, but these guys have big future certainly, theyre extremely talented players and compose awesoem intriguing music. it takes a bit to get into them but still very nicely put together. i bought this album blinfolded relying that it would be a really nice hardcore cd since its from relapse records but it is absolutely not relapse style. diversity of music makes another advantage for this great cd."

An overlooked masterpiece

Johnny | Boston, MA | 11/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dysrhythmia's Pretest is an incredible instrumental album. The first thing I notice when I read bad reviews of this cd is that those listeners are ultimately approaching the album in completely the wrong way.



Some complaints are that this sounds amateur, like it was recorded in a garage, or dissonant and poorly written. You have to first realize that this band has their roots (or at least some type of appendage) in the metal scene. If you are approaching this as a metal fan, the raw production style and dissonant, non-conventional song structures are a big part of the appeal. People who call this music poorly written or unprofessional are simply just looking for a more conventional, polished sound--which they aren't going to get here.



On the other side of the coin are the people who are expecting this to be more metal than it actually is. This band may be connected to the metal scene, but in the actual style of music they play I can hardly find a trace of metal. These are melodic, moody, beautiful pieces of music that I would consider more an outshoot of the post-rock genre with bands like Explosions in the Sky or Red Sparowes. Your typical relapse records fan probably will find this album weak and boring, because in all honesty this is not a metal album. The only metal element I hear on this album is the down tuned, rumbling, thunderous bass. This adds an interesting heavy contrast to the guitars which are generally not "heavy" at all.



Like all ground breaking albums, this lies at the crossroads of many different genres--metal, prog rock, and ambient post-rock to name the influences I see. This very fact make it un-accessible to the more traditional members of each sub-genre who want the band to play inside the lines. If you can listen to this album with an open mind to elements of metal, jazz, ambient, and progressive music you will find a very rewarding album.



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Reading this review again a few years later, I just have to laugh at the Relapse comment in light of the direction the label took. Of course they still have the obligatory low tier deathgrind bands."