Grayceon - All We Destroy

All We Destroy is San Francisco prog-metal trio Grayceon’s third full-length of post-rock music on the hair’s end of the metal scene, though not quite there. With a cacophony of sounds, instruments and emotive vocalization, the band attempts to rebuild on the This Grand Show from ’08. In all honesty, listening to the album twice I am simply not grabbed by it either time around. I grant there are moments of sheer fluidity and charm that emanate from the music, but as a whole I’m just left feeling a bit bored by the whole ordeal.

The best part of the album for me is the cello by Jackie Perez Gratz, known for her Amber Asylum work, but her vocals just fall so flat for me. To some that is sacrilege I’m sure, but as a collective, this piece just failed to keep my attention like others in the genre might. As I said, there are some very tight moments in here, especially “We Can”, which is so expertly clustered it’s amazing, possibly because it has such a long time to work in such graces. Some high classical elements can be found right here in this track, and these little moments make the album at least somewhat memorable for me. However, once the vocals kick in the entire mood gets dropped for me. For the music alone I try and get past this accordingly, though it’s not easy at times.

I do enjoy the moody feel of the tunes as they tend to move along like an easy stream, for lack of a better analogy at present. The music can find its way into your psyche and burrow on occasion, but the disheveled vocals simply are hard to ignore at times. “Once a Shadow” provides a short reprieve in all of its seven minutes of glory, and its folky feel meshing with a sporadic metal tinge  makes it quite illuminating and fresh without sounding like the typical Scandinavian brand of folk/Viking metal seeping into the fray these days; it’s heavy without overdoing the concept.

This is definitely an album that could be a grower as it moves along, but it may take a few added listens for me. I must be honest and say that much of it was background noise for me at this point.  I hear the definitive talent herein, but for me to truly be encompassed by an album it simply has to strike vital parts of my head and chest, and this one just doesn’t do that for me. 

Release Date: March 11, 2011
Label: Profound Lore Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Dreamer Deceived
2.  Shellmounds
3.  We Can
4.  Once a Shadow
5.  A Road Less Traveled
6.  War’s End

Total playing time:  50:56

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*Comments:

Reviewer: Chris

March 7, 2011