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5ive, "Hesperus"
There has been no shortage of metal-tinged instrumental bands these last few years but few can pull it off like Boston's heaviest band. The Touch Records style cover can be quite deceptive: what lurks inside is equal part rock monster and rock ogre; it starts with a bang and finishes with a louder bang.
Hesperus is their first proper release for a while (their last EP being a remix CD) and it is a stomper. The music is not the bludgeoning Boris/Pelican/Isis brand of metal that they are usually classified under, in fact it is barely even metal. What this album sounds like is a hypothetical situation where the boys from Dirty Three have found themselves in a recording studio without their equipment but manage to get a loan of Tool’s gear. The jamming is that frenetic, passionate channelling of energy that Dirty Three are known for but the aesthetic is definitely modern heavy rock. I admit this description is strange (and probably a little off-putting) but believe me, it works. What makes it all the more remarkable is that, despite sounding like a four piece, 5ive are a duo (which makes me wonder how they happened upon the name?).
Short pieces like “Kettle Cove” and “Big Sea” combine the crushing weight of largely amplified guitars with a very fluid and loose style of playing; it never feels like the group are trying to introduce elements and time changes to make the music more complicated (as often is the case with instrumental music). The final two tracks, “News I” and “News II,” take up nearly half the album and Hesperus is all the better for it. There are times where the music strays into generic post-rock territory but 5ive always manage to pull it back into more engaging directions.
While there may be no reinvention of the wheel here, there is more than enough enthusiastic playing here to make Hesperus a worthwhile. The fact that there are no gaps that need filling (vocalist? Pfffft!) combined with the breadth of music on offer is striking, all the more considering the fact that it is such a small band making such a huge sound. Those familiar with 5ive will know what they are getting into (and it is even better than normal, trust me) and those who think they are a boyband from the UK, this blows those wusses away.
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