Uneven Structure-8

A multi-national collaboration based in France, Uneven Structure are one of the more promising projects in djent. Closer to the Tesseract side of djent than Periphery, Uneven Structure couple fierce down-tuned polyrhythms with a sea of clean 8-string melodies and dark ambient textures.

During the writing process of the upcoming full-length, Februus, the band found they had some material that didn't truly fit on the album but was too good to waste. Thus, 8 was born. 8 also served as a sort of valve to let off the obvious Meshuggah influence within the band. Yes, this album is a piece of Meshuggah worship at the altar of their Catch 33 album. Ultimately, 8 is a faster, more layered and ultimately pretty effective Catch 33.

Production is surprisingly effective considering how it was a real DIY job on modest equipment, with the guitars sounding extremely low and djenty and drums sounding impressively un-sampled. They also manage to keep the enormous amount of ambiance from becoming muddy or overwhelming, keeping it at an appropriate level in the mix.

One of my favorite elements of 8 is how it flows. From the first, distinctive "ting" of the cymbal on Dianoia, to the fading finishing section, 8 never stops. It acknowledges its ancestry in C33 and proceeds to not give a damn. Riff after frantic, pounding riff, with walls of samples and ambiance like liquid in the background, unabashedly Kidman vocals reciting what can only be a parody of the opaque lyrical style of Catch 33 all tied together with some amazing drumming leads to an undeniably intense package. Sure its derivate and one-note but by god, it's an amazing one note.

8 serves as a fine piece of Meshuggah aping, while still giving a hint what to expect from the full-lenth. Altogether a stellar EP.