The Esoteric – SubVerter Prosthetic Records By Nick Wright

I haven't heard a CD of balls-out boundary-pushing melodic punk this exciting since The Refused put out The Shape of Punk to Come and broke up. This was—what—back in 1998. So, it's been about eight years; though not quite as worthy of The Refused's swan-song opus' status, The Esoteric drops SubVerter, and I can't help but smile.     Based in Lawrence, KS and formed in 1996, The Esoteric have dropped a handful of E.P.'s and this CD is only the second full-length to date. The overall, and most readily apparent influence for this band is Killing Joke—whose penchant for melody, trance-like repetition and nuance, have even rubbed off on the band, Ministry (very influential in their own right, mind you). With that noted, the individual members of The Esoteric have their roots in musical projects ranging from full-on pop with Reggie and the Full Effect to indie rock with Theta.     The eclectic tastes and contributions of each member of The Esoteric become apparent as the entire album progresses through a series of stylistic shape shifting; the stoner-metal of opening track, “Destroy, She Said”; the beat-happy drum-'n'-bass electronic intermission of “Language is A Virus”; the power-rock of the encouraging punk anthem “Don't Waste Guts”; the epic grandiosity and socio-political themes of the album closer, “Clone-Culture and the Cut-Up Method”; track after track, The Esoteric consistently offer a new musical flavor to rouse the listener's palette without losing their own unique identity.     In a nutshell, my whole attitude toward this CD can be summed up as this: If the future is bright and rewarding for a band such as The Esoteric, so-much-so as to inspire them to keep up the good work, then it is just as well for lovers of music.

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Published on: 2007-01-07 (802 reads)