Steve From Accounting is a band I have had the great pleasure of hearing music from in the past, and I'm here again to cast light on some new material they graciously shared with me. I'm going to give my two cents on an EP called Genus and two other previously unreleased tracks that were recorded after "Remission" (see article on this album in our library of reviews), but before the Genus EP. Since the two previously unreleased tracks came first chronologically, I'm going to review them first. Before that, however, just a little background on the songs and the band since the last article.
Firstly, the band. They've been very busy lately, musically, with their upcoming record in the works to be entitled "Esoteric". You heard it here first folks! This new album is set to be ready by October of this year (2014). Along with this record, they want to record another full album of nothing but Biffy Clyro covers, and possibly another full of random covers, and all instrumental. Some good stuff on the way!
As far as the music, these two tracks entitled Vallombrosa amd Pyre are a step up and more mature compared to "Remission". These tracks are less chord based and more technical. As far as Genus is concerned, it's even ANOTHER step higher. It's basically a prelude to the upcoming record. There's a bit of a concept behind the names of the tracks here. "Genus" is defined as "a class of things which have common characteristics, and which can be divided into subordinate kinds". So both tracks are different species of trees, due to the fact that they just really like trees. This EP was originally meant to be longer than just two tracks, but that's how it ended up being, nevertheless, the quality makes up for the quantity.
Steve From Accounting still is Conor O'Loughlin on guitar, bass, and synths, and Thomas Limb on drums, programming, and synths.
1) Genus: This first track has a very heavy metal element to it with some strong and palm-muted chords bursting out at you. Being a very heavy track, they manage to still squeeze in some great technicality and lovely harmonies to step back a bit and really explore their sound. The drums really take it up a notch too with some sturdy, focused hits, great double-pedal (or bass) skills, and awesome hand and feet coordination. Strong and powerful track, and I hope to hear more of this power in the coming release!
2) Acacia: Another down-right heavy song. You can really hear how much these guys have grown in this track. Faster picking speed on the guitar, and faster hands and feet behind the drums. This song starts with sheer power and aggression. And you thought the last track was heavy! In this tune, they also experiment with "thrash metal" a bit with the great speed they show off. Like I said, fast picking and a quick glimpse at some blast beats. One of my favorite parts in this song is how they slow down a bit about half way through, and Conor cuts off the distortion and just drops a sweet, beautiful melody on you. A bit unexpected, but a nice surprise. Also, near the end, Conor seems to be finger tapping the guitar (again, correct me if I'm wrong) and it's very good! We can be sure to enjoy more of this great music soon to come!
Steve From Accounting have truly grown, as we can tell from these four tracks, and they have truly honed their craft, their talent, to be unique and theirs. This is a band you really want to keep an eye on people! These guys will go far!!!
-Rätsel