Hailing from Barrie, Ontario, Canada, The Afterimage is an up and coming progressive metalcore band signed to Famined Records. Their debut EP entitled Formless is something many people are waiting for, and their anticipation is with good reason. Formless will be available August 14th, 2012, and is well worth the wait.
“Prologue” kicks off the EP with calming guitars and drums. This progresses as the song goes by, finally blossoming into an epic first breakdown. The short guitar intro to the breakdown is enough to get anyone hooked, so Formless is off to a great start.
Up next is “Reverie” which gives us the first taste of vocals. Brutal and deep enough to intimidate a grizzly bear, they accent perfectly against the higher-toned lead guitar. Halfway through “Reverie” and I start to understand the real musicianship that The Afterimage’s members possess. At every turn the guitars are throwing together a new rhythm, the drums are syncopating themselves into frenzy, and there are more polyrhythms than you can shake a fist at.
“Shallows” starts with a fading effect that morphs into another brutal scream. The transitions on this track are so quick and effortless; it becomes unimportant to try to follow all the time changes. In the middle of “Shallows”, a synth is added to the mix overtop of another intense breakdown, which is quickly followed by a series of transitions that lead to another hellacious breakdown.
The final song on Formless is “The Void”, which is probably the best song on this great EP. Starting with a stupendously groovy section, “The Void” just continues to get better and better. Breakdown after breakdown come flying out, each one seemingly more bouncy and complex than the last. The lyric “You’ve become the void in my life” kicks off another mammoth breakdown, and the EP fades off to a finish.
Clocking in at just over 13 minutes, my one qualm with Formless is that I wish there was more of it. This four-song tease of an EP is sure to make fans clamor for more, and I am included in that bunch. While Formless is still waiting to be released, I am going to be waiting for more from The Afterimage. But for now, this debut EP will have to suffice, and it does quite the job.
