The Human Abstract

Midheaven

[3.5/5]

The Human Abstract have gathered up a lot of the latter-day prog signifiers floating around the metal scene: Cover art worthy of Muse’s next disc; vocals that are equal parts the Mars Volta’s Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto; fleet guitar solos; polyrhythms and unexpected percussion instruments (bring out the bongos!); song titles that never appear in the lyrics; you get the idea. Labels aside, Midheaven is a real balancing act: “Metanoia” is all blast and bark, while “This World Is A Tomb” aches with emotion, indicated in the piano and swooshing keyboards. The only prog trick the Los Angeles-based quintet miss is the 20-minute multi-part suite. But they get around that oversight by somehow managing to make the songs seem twice as long as they actually are, with frequent musical shifts ensuring you’ll never find your attention drifting. (HOPELESS) Phil Freeman