a review of some San Antonio metal band

What starts off as punishing soon turns grueling

Mass of Amara's Earth-puncturing rhythm section contrasts sequences of clean, note-holding singing. That contrast, along with synths and glitches for atmosphere, is what melodic progressive metal is made of.

Most of this music isn't for me, but I appreciate parts of the young San Antonio band's second EP, "Through the Ether." Those parts include "Ascended." The verse riff is the album's coolest. Then the savage parts come one after another.

The rhythm section, with the low-end guitars and bass punctuating the drums, brings the highlights.

Melodic, progressive metal like this sounds highly produced, with silence-stripping and all. And the clean singer is not a character telling a story; they close their eyes and try like hell to hold the notes and make the rest more marketable.

Taste: there’s no accounting for it.

The band says this: "The inspiration behind the EP title, 'Through the Ether,' is derived from the infinite unconscious that we can tap into in a time when we are ready to heal a part of ourselves, as well as to acquire information about what we are capable of."

 

 

"Through the Ether" was self-released on June 14, 2024.

 

(posts) "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round" by The Monkees

"What Am I Doing Hanging 'Round?"

Just a loud mouth Yankee I went down to Mexico.
I didn't have much time to spend, about a week or so.
There I lightly took advantage of a girl who loved me so.
But I found myself a-thinkin' when the time had come to go...

What am I doin' hangin' round?
I should be on that train and gone.
I should be ridin' on that train to San Antone,
What am I doin' hangin' round?

She took me to the garden just for a little walk.
I didn't know much Spanish and there was no time for talk.
Then she told me that she loved me not with words but with a kiss.
And like a fool I kept on thinkin' of a train I could not miss...

What am I doin' hangin' round?
I should be on that train and gone.
I should be ridin' on that train to San Antone,
What am I doin' hangin' round?

Well it's been a year or so, and I want to go back again.
And if I get the money, well I'll ride the same old train.
But I guess your chances come but once and boy I sure missed mine.
And still I can't stop thinkin' when I hear some whistle cryin'....

What am I doin' hangin' round?
I should be on that train and gone.
I should be ridin' on that train to San Antone,
What am I doin' hangin' round?

Note:
At 0:24, Nesmith appears to sneer at someone (or something) off camera.