Short Reviews [In Motion - 2019 - "Thriving Force"]

Belgian musician Tom Tee has been releasing albums under different names for a while now, as a quick visit to his BandCamp page will attest to, as he uses that as a method to allow himself to work through different styles. On this 2019 release he has again brought in many guests to help him out, all kindly listed by song, and the name which undoubtedly stands out is that of Bjorn Strid from Soilwork. Strid has been keeping himself busy not only with his main band but also with The Night Flight Orchestra and other projects of which this is one, providing vocals on a couple of tracks. Tom has helpfully tagged the album as death metal, melodic metal, metal, progressive metal, thrash metal, trash metal and progressive metal. So, it’s metal, right? Well yes, and very much no at the same time. The main influence isn’t listed which is primarily djent, but that is combined with progressive metal to create something which at times is twisted and other is brightness and light. The use of mostly extreme metal singers has of course provided a certain edge to the sound, but this is then combined with unusual time signatures, very heavy bottom end, and at times a restraint which is sometimes unleashed allowing the guitarist to really shine. Listening to Matthieu Romarin (from French prog metal act Uneven Structure) singing quite sweetly over the top of the Meshuggah-style “The Dying of Spheres, Pt 2” is totally different to the take provided by Jasper Daelman (Anti-Icon) which is far more brutal. It is an interesting prog metal album, but also the diversity being displayed is also its own downfall in that there are times when the listener finds it hard to move from one style to another and it can all become rather muddied. Overall though, still an interesting album which is worth discovering.