This ferocious Canadian band dropped their debut EP “Formless” not too long ago. Taking after their countrymen in Structures, The Afterimage have a very heavy, chaotic approach to how they write. Albeit with a bit more of a melodic drive than Structures. “Formless” is a 4 song release with a lot to show off in a short amount of time (13 minutes to be exact).
The EP starts off with a very melodic approach in it’s opener “Prologue”. Clean cascading guitars bring in a driving melody over the grooving drums and atmosphere behind the song. Further in the track things get rougher, but retain the melody of the song as the guitars begin chugging out a breakdown into the end of the song. The next song “Reverie” almost explodes into the listeners ears with a beautifully tapped lead which moves into a driving rhythm. Some elements of hardcore emerge and things get much heavier as you go. Listeners get their first real taste of the band’s sound in this track as the vocalist lets out deep growls and yells over the chaotic mathcore style reminiscent of Structures. Next comes “Shallows” which might be the heaviest track off “Formless”. It definitely features that chaotic sound with interlaced breakdowns and technicality. It also has one of the strongest melodies on the release, showing the band has an ability to shift seamlessly from heavy to melodic. The last and longest track of the release is “The Void”. This is a great, crazy, heavy song. There are some well done, skull shattering moments on this one.
The Afterimage is a very talented band but there is room for growth. Some “br00tal” parts of this release strike me as generic. They do a good job handling the heaviness most of the time though. Also, as mentioned above, the band certainly have an ability to transition seamlessly but they don’t always showcase it. Some transitions on this release come off sloppy in my ears. Those are my only real criticisms of an otherwise great debut.
The Afterimage certainly have a lot of potential in their lineup and we’re interested to see what they end up doing next. But in the meantime, you should give “Formless” a listen and try out the tracks we have for you. If you like what you hear, consider supporting these guys with some monies.
