Earthside – “A Dream In Static” [Album Review]

A Dream in Static is probably one of the toughest albums of 2015 to break down because of the amount of depth and detail the record has. This album is essentially like looking at a Claude Monet painting. On the surface it can be tough to understand what is really going on at first but, if you take a step back and look closely, you can see all the elements jump out at you.

Difficult to decipher it may be but, once it clicks, it hits you hard. Everything about this record is beyond creative. The musical structure is going in all sorts of directions. The metal elements are there but a lot of it is just really avant-garde heavier progressive music. There are also a lot of ambient elements that can almost touch Ulver levels at times while still remaining true to their own sound as a band. Furthermore, for as little vocal work as there is on this album, when the singing is present in a song they make sure you know it. From mid to high ranges, it inspires euphoric feeling while hearing the reverberated guitar solos and keyboards to paint a bigger picture.

The run time being over an hour can be a little steep for any genre of music however there’s always more than enough going on to keep the listener intrigued throughout the whole record and that’s the beautiful part about bands as good as Earthside. When musicians are so talented that they can entertain, provoke introspective thought, or simply build a great amount of atmosphere to keep the listener’s attention for over an hour. That is a true work of art.

Track Listing:

01. The Closest I’ve Come
02. Mob Mentality
03. A Dream in Static
04. Entering the Light
05. Skyline
06. Crater
07. The Ungrounding
08. Contemplation of the Beautiful

Run time: 60:04
Release date: 23 October, 2015

Check out the track “A Dream In Static” here.