Random: Todo.s los Colores del (2011)

Review

Argentina's Random asked me to review their free album, Todo.s los Colores del. Despite the least metal album cover ever (and that's counting album covers from all music, not just metal) it is intriguing.

They identify themselves as an extreme prog metal band. They're not extreme (more on that later), but they're definitely prog, and they're definitely metal. They start with a foundation of Devin Townsend, add in the pop sensibilities of recent Dillinger Escape Plan, some Claypool-esque bass work, a touch of Tool ("Qualm"), a sprinkling of later Mastodon ("Meeting at Jabol"), and run it through a filter of groove/alt metal from the late 90's.

It's an interesting formula, and there's a lot to like about it. They have memorable songwriting with catchy melodies and hooks, plus some crushingly heavy riffs. It shouldn't be tough to get into at all. Except that I can't get into it.

There's something I don't like about this, and it's tough-to-pin-down. Even though it's clearly not djent, I can't help but think about djent when I listen to this. And then I look at that album cover again, and remember that they think they're an extreme metal band. There's nothing extreme about it--it's heavy, but there's no aggression, evil, or other dark emotion. And then it dawns on me: Like all the djent bands, this music sounds like metal, but it comes from a different psychological space. It doesn't come from the darker side of human experience.



The Verdict: Musically accomplished and interesting, with good songwriting, Random have a lot going for them with this album. But to me it sounds like metal performed by people who don't have it flowing in their veins. I give it 3 out of 5 stars. You can download it for free here, if you're interested.