Fortune

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of The Contortionist’s Clairvoyant ever since they released the first single of the album. Each subsequent single got me even more excited, and September 15th (the album’s release date) couldn’t arrive fast enough.

After about a month of listening to Clairvoyant an (almost) infinite number times I’m happy to say that the album has lived up to all my expectations, and it is staggeringly beautiful.

Clairvoyant eschews The Contortionist’s earlier heavy progressive metal sound and instead forges ahead on the journey that they began with Language in 2014 – this album is what I would describe as “minimalist progressive metal” (why yes, I do believe I just invented that term), with some songs being almost progressive rock. This album is even less heavy than Language, and features only a tiny amount of screaming (only one song as far as I can tell).

What this album does feature in abundance though is the musical complexity that makes The Contortionist such a delight to the ears. The guitars are simple, layered, and not too heavy; the drums are complicated yet (somehow) subtle; the bass powerful and perfect; and the vocals are haunting. Mike Lessard’s vocals on this album are nothing short of incredible, and bring a lot of emotional depth (you can read more about the background of the album here) to all the songs. His vocals are perhaps my favorite part of the album, with the guitars being a close second.

Clairvoyant is easily one of favorite albums of all time. With this album I believe that The Contortionist have created their own unique sound, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this immensely talented band.