The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza

Danza IIII: The Alpha – The Omega

Bludgeoning listeners with a massive wall of 8-string wailing is the specialty of Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza mastermind Josh Travis, and Danza IIII: The Alpha – The Omega is no different. The album is overflowing with erratic, dissonant shredding and guttural yelps, proving band haven’t changed much since III. But they are bringing out a greater sense of melody and ambience (perhaps due to Travis’ involvement in the more melodic Glass Cloud). “Death Eater” moves through a brooding groove and deathcore vocal line, but is layered with slight hints of electronics that gives it room to breathe through its slow tempo. As djent has proliferated in the past several years, the chunkiness of “Paul Bunyan And The Blue Ox” comes with Periphery-worthy high-gain chugging while still retaining the technicality only matched by peers like the Dillinger Escape Plan or Car Bomb. “Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid” sweeps through reverbed loops and glitchy cuts of a guitar riff while the two-part “Disconnecting” breaks up the latter half of the record with small interludes with massive layers. For a final bow, Danza deliver the goods in every way with an uncompromising pile of riffs while continuing to show they’re not a one-trick pony. Tech-metal is losing one of its best bands with IIII, but they couldn’t have sent themselves off on a better note.

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“Paul Bunyan And The Blue Ox”