Prog isn’t for everyone and I would have classed myself in a group that would have turned my nose up at most of it a few years back, but as with everything in life it’s only as you get older that you begin to see things differently and appreciate them more, and for those who are still on the fence let Earthside take you on a sonic journey that will not only blow your mind but change it.
“Let The Truth Speak” is the band’s second album and it is one of the most mesmerising albums you will hear all year, it has everything from prog metal to ambient to jazz to soul. The opening track “But What If We’re Wrong?” is an instrumental that has Sandbox Percussion guesting on it, an enthralling piece that will captivate you. “We Who Lament” brings you on a journey through the musical sound space as it goes up and down from mellow vibes to a crushing crescendo, the vocals from Keturah are amazing as her haunting voice fits perfectly with the atmosphere of the song. “Tyranny” starts out more metal than the previous two tracks before morphing into a piano-style ballad that has a heavy element to it, Pritam Adhikary from Aarlon guests on vocals on this one, his voice is amazing and the way he changes from soft to gravelly is brilliant as it accentuates the heaviness, particularly towards the back of the track when the bass and drums come in, the guitars are sublime on this track as they flick between softly strummed and crunching riffs.
“Pattern Of Rebirth” may be one of the shorter tracks on the album but don’t let that fool you, it still packs a hell of a punch, AJ Channer of Fire From The Gods is the man of the hour here and he puts in a monster shift as he manages to keep his cool bluesy style vocals even when everything around him it descending into chaos, he also adds a little R&B around the breakdown, this is a great track. The lamenting “Watching The Earth Shrink” is a nearly twelve-minute instrumental epic that will take through the full range of emotions from the highs to the lows and all in between, the ambient sounds mix well with the gentle drums and slow echoey guitars, a nice track if a little on the long side, but hey that’s what prog is all about. Pushing the boundaries of prog to the limits is “The Lesser Evil”, a mind-melting mixture of metal, jazz and soul that is underpinned by Larry Braggs’ stunning vocals and multi-instrumentalist Sam Gendel who puts in an equally impressive shift on the sax, a brilliant song that should not sound as good as it does considering the mix of styles and genres. “Denial’s Aria” sees Keturah return with Vikke, a Latvian singer/songwriter, combined they serenade you with their stunning voices, the harps from Duo Scorpio, a New York harp duo, help create a hypnotic melody that will enthral you. “Vespers” is an eerie atmospheric prelude, featuring Vikke and Russian singer Gennady Tkachenko-Papizh, to the title track “Let The Truth Speak”, a prog epic that will astound you, the cool melodies, shifts in tone and style are amazing while Tesseract’s Daniel Tompkins lends his considerable might and ability to put in a blinding shift, Gennady Tkachenko-Papizh returns once again to add his own effects giving to add another sonic twist to an outstanding track. The album closes with “All We Knew And Ever Loved”, a monumental instrumental that will leave you breathless, this may be long but this track alone is worth the price of admission, a fantastic way to finish the album.
Earthside
‘Let The Truth Speak’
Out 17 November Via Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group
Pre-order the album here: https://lnk.to/Earthside
Review: Conor
Tracklist:
01 We Who Lament (feat. Keturah)
02 But What If We’re Wrong (feat. Sandbox Percussion)
03 Tyranny (feat. Pritam Adhikary of Aarlon)
04 Pattern Of Rebirth (feat. AJ Channer of Fire From The Gods)
05 Watching The Earth Sink
06 The Lesser Evil (feat. Larry Braggs & Sam Gendel)
07 Denial’s Aria (feat. Keturah, VikKe & Duo Scorpio)
08 Vespers (feat. Gennady Tkachenko-Papizh & VikKe)
09 Let The Truth Speak (feat. Daniel Tompkins of TesseracT & Gennady Tkachenko-Papizh)
10 All We Ever Knew And Ever Loved (feat. Baard Kolstad of Leprous)
Check out the videos for:
“Let the Truth Speak” ft. Daniel Tompkins [TesseracT] & Gennady Tkachenko-Papizh
Pattern of Rebirth (feat. AJ Channer of Fire From The Gods)
We Who Lament (feat. Keturah)
The award winning video for All We Ever Knew And Ever Loved (feat. Baard Kolstad of Leprous)
Earthside are:
Jamie van Dyck Guitars, backing vocals, keyboards
Ben Shanbrom Drums, backing vocals
Frank Sacramone Keyboards, synths, percussion, guitars
Featured artists:
Sandbox Percussion
Keturah
Pritam Adhikary
AJ Channer
Larry Braggs
Sam Gendel
Vikke
Duo Scorpio
Daniel Tompkins
Gennady Tkachenko-Papizh
Baard Kolstad
www.facebook.com/easthsideband