Who can resist a record that features someone called Percival? We couldn’t. Promises of old lore with Peredur1 and King Arthur. Misty sagas of even mistier origins lost in the tunnels of time.
But that wasn’t the only attribute that lured us into faraway Canadian lands. It’s Osyron‘s feisty and harsh brand of Progressive Metal that piqued our attention, too. Same as a few other bands of similar ilk that crossed our hawse earlier this year.
Epic battles to rip the genteel Hakens of this world to shreds for sport or a band lost in that horrible labyrinth of the metal multiverse? Knives are out, this is gonna be brutal.
The RMR review committee always raises its mutual head once a new piece of modern Progressive Metal lands in the murky overheated swamps of our review pipe. You get all kinds, of course. Some of them were truly in our good graces and others less so. But Momentous here truly lives up to its name. For large stretches, this is a militant and aggressive slab of metal that will relentlessly hammer the band’s idea of prog into you.
Right off the start of the slightly doomy yet savagely rough Anunnaki, the band demonstrates that they mean business. This is no lecture in djentology anymore. These are bygone times and Osyron truly got past that. Instead, you get exercises in brutal Deathcore à la Aeons with abundant deliveries of thrash built into the relentless assault. And all of that crazy jazz sails dangerously close to Technical Death Metal without going there outright. And let’s not forget those short excursions into Power Prog that suddenly emerge from odd corners.
Momentous‘ funky side shows itself once the band launches into more folksy realms. But I daresay, this ain’t necessarily Osyron‘s strongest suit. If anything, they could have ditched ditties like Prairie Sailor and increased the crispness of the record as a whole. The album sports great momentum and a pretty sturdy energy for large parts that keep the overall spirit alive. Slowing things down to a crawl all of a sudden thus won’t sit too well.
The selection of Stu Block, late of Iced Earth, as a guest contributor is an interesting one. The record gains a lot of added traction, and The Deafening truly is one of the strongest tracks that reaches pretty far into Nevermore-ish realms. Now, if you’re looking for the essence of the album with little time on your hands, try Momentous, the title track. It’s a 12-minute-plus behemoth, but it contains everything the record has in its sights. From harsh prog, over folksy part, to ambient interludes, it’s the full monty. What else? Dominion Day with its delicious and more traditional proggy airs caught our attention a few times too many.
After a while, though, Momentous starts to be a big ask. This is a high-intensity record that sometimes tries a bit too hard. You’ll find a great many elements built into an already overloaded arrangement. To the point that the production often loses some contributors in the mix. In other words, throwing the kitchen sink at the audience because you can, won’t necessarily help matters. And that prevented the record to move from very good to great.
But nothing is ever perfect, right? After all, Momentous truly proved to be one of the bright spots on the RMR ‘zine in the feisty prog department for 2022. So, if you’re up to a few wild spins of wanton, power-laden, Progressive Metal fun, then this is your record. Osyron have a lot of promise. And if they can iron out these impurities, Reed and his gang will go far in their chosen genre. Very far.
Record Rating: 7/10 | Label: Self-Released | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 4 November 2022
- And his sister, don’t forget his sister. -Ed.-↩