REVIEW: The Human Abstract – Digital Veil

Artist: The Human Abstract
Album: Digital Veil
Genre: Metal
Label: eONE

The Human Abstract are, research tells me, an American progressive metal band. Yet, this description would seem to do them disservice. They work their way through numerous metal sub genres throughout this eight-song onslaught, coming out the other end a tad bruised and contrived but likeable nonetheless.

Their opening track is a work of genius, albeit slightly borrowed genius. “Elegiac” sounds like a mixture between Air’s score for The Virgin Suicides and “Sally’s Song” from The Nightmare Before Christmas. At first, that is – the guitars then leap in with a soaring, almost poignant note that crafts a graceful and alluring opening to the album. The atmospheric serenity of its opening notes hints at a certain flair for musical eloquence that is unfortunately underdeveloped later, for it’s a far more effective attention grabber than the visceral excesses elsewhere.

As it is, “Complex Terms” then gets down to business with a forceful roar and thunderous music. The vocals are guttural and intense, nicely offset during the chorus by a cleaner and more contained approach. Everything starts galloping after the second verse, leading to a marauding breakdown which ends gorgeously in a piano teaser before the next chorus.

The album is an extraordinarily complex, intricate mixture of compositions. “Digital Veil” pounds by with very heavy double bass drums, rolling percussion and menacing vocals. The slithers of guitar zeal are almost at odds with the darkness of the singing. The structure and rhythm are liberal, blazing their own trail and backtracking constantly to shake things up. There’s an almost cosmic sensibility to the notes that precede the final chorus – everything is unpredictable, delivered with brawn and intensity.

“Faust” is an incongruous piece of work, all the elements working somehow out of sync with one another. Yet, this lack of equilibrium kind of works. It’s a bit mad and random but it is pulled together neatly at sporadic intervals, and tied up with aching vocals and delicious piano interludes. One thing that becomes clearer as the album continues (and which this song highlights) is that the constant rasping effect of the vocal performances isn’t necessarily the best approach – traditionally, this style of music works well when its inherent asymmetry is balanced by contrasting male and female vocals. The lack thereof means the songs can get lost in themselves, as the singing blends into one throaty mess and loses its impact with repetition.

“Antebellum” is a 7 and a half minute long epic. It starts out very temperate and mindful, with a delicate string note set to ambient vocals and accompaniments. It differs from the others in that it uses the strained timeline to actually build up gradually, adding bits and pieces at a time as opposed to throwing everything into one corrosive barrel and adding extra acid. It’s ambitious, but it’s still too long. “Holographic Sight” is a little duller than the rest, the sparseness of orchestral elements doing the song disservice. There is a nice brooding verse where a creeping note plays over muted recordings, sounding like something straight out of Within Temptation’s Intro (Mother Earth edition).

Patterns continues the trends as before, though by this stage some weariness with the pound-pound-yell-yell-spark-spark structure has set in. It isn’t bad per se, and indeed the relatively short eight-strong tracklisting does allow for this to become one burst of intensity as opposed to a prolonged overshare, but alas it also feels like the same essential idea set to different speeds. However, it’s interesting, which a lot of bands tend not to be, and as a slightly more outré version of Europe’s masters of symphonic/progressive metal it ain’t bad at all.

In conclusion, The Human Abstract lack the clarity of a female vocalist, which usually helps to balance music like this. Accordingly, Epica (or perhaps more accurately, vintage Sirenia) won’t be troubled any time soon. But as an effort Digital Veil is valiant and hearty, and for the scope and boldness of its ambitions (plus the relative dexterity with which the complexities are realized) it must be applauded.

Score: 7/10
Review written by: Grace Duffy

James Shotwell
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One Response to “REVIEW: The Human Abstract – Digital Veil”

  1. Guest says:

    Why would this need female vocals? The two bands you mentioned aren’t anywhere near the sound exhibited here.