The Esoteric

The Esoteric

Subverter

[4/5] Last February, the Esoteric’s Lawrence, Kansas, practice space-which also happened to be their home-burned to the ground. The band regrouped mentally and musically while remaining on the road through the end of 2005, and somewhere during that revelatory trek, the Esoteric decided that their sound, too, should be rebuilt, using atmosphere as its foundation. Subverter’s songs begin with a thick, wall-of-noise base, then incorporate ringing guitar leads, choppy breakdown fragments and cataclysmic percussion. United by gloomy-toned ambience, epic tracks such as “We Will Not Be Convinced” cycle through old-school hardcore, moody melodic passages and propulsive Mötorhead-style rock. Steve Cruz screams urgently yet distantly, as if warning of an impending disaster he’s too far away from to prevent. He enunciates his outbursts, ensuring lines such as “the scene is dead and so are you” land with impact. The Esoteric can be technically daunting, but their guitar and rhythm-section acrobatics feel integral rather than decorative. (PROSTHETIC) Andrew Miller

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