Written by Carcassbomb
- Intercepting Pattern
- The Encounter
- Jazz/prog/metalcore/thrash
- Germany
- Rising Nemesis Records
- September 4, 2020
- 8.5/10
People may be apprehensive when seeing jazz in the genre descriptor for a metal album but Intercepting Pattern manages to overcome many of the failings typical to this style. At first you may suspect it is an instrumental album which is very common for jazzy metal – fortunately there are great vocals on this album and without them it would be more run of the mill. There’s also the use of programming elements such as electronic harmonies or other artificial sounds to accompany the alien like guitar tones. It’s a well written story that plays out in a thoroughly entertaining manner.
It has the rhythm and technical prowess of an instrumental album without the limitation of being an instrumental album, or even a metal album. Guitar and bass enthusiasts will have a great time with The Encounter. The tones used and the intricate transitions make for a hearty ear meal. The two are always playing off each other or complimenting each other in some way, like dancers spinning and reacting – equally prominent.
The use of the digital sound elements helps spread the music out, as well as having the vocals used sparingly. As a result whenever something is being played, be it bass, guitar or vocals, it really sticks out. You hold onto the moments and follow them through. None of it sounds overused or gets washed out. Through the playing, the recording and the mixing they’ve basically captured peak performance here. Whether or not that style of performance is one I always like is another story but even my favorite movies have least favorite moments.
Intercepting Pattern: Bandcamp / Facebook
There are some metalcore and hardcore influences fused into this record, particularly the vocals and what sounds like a 7 or 8 string guitar. It’s semi-djenty but not so much that it makes you queasy. It’s quite reserved and bassy. It pops up here and there between the jazz tangents and thrash segments. Vocally it’s somewhere between Hatebreed and Pantera, it doesn’t quite go full on death metal. These are my least favorite parts but they’re small in comparison to all the parts of the album I do like a lot.
The Encounter releases on the 4th of September and I strongly recommend it for fans of various types of music from game soundtracks to Ephel Duath. There’s vinyl and all sorts of merch for it. Strong debut release
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