Written by: PP on 12/12/2005 22:31:09

Shora is a four-piece psychedelic progressive rock band from Geneva, Switzerland, who have previously toured with Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan. With a touring background as hardcore and experimental as with these two bands, you'd be expecting at least 80% of the album to be screamed out loud. But then you reach the final moments of the fourth and the final nine-minute epic "Klarheit" and you end up with a total of 0 screams, and in fact, a total of less than two minutes of vocals.

But "Malval" isn't about vocal harmonies. It is neither an album that needs to be supported by vocals. In fact, when the soft, delicate female vocals finally actualize after half an hour of everlasting progression by the end of "Klarheit", they blend together with the instruments so well that if you're not paying attention, they'll swift by one's ears without any notification of their existence.

The whole album progresses track by track, second by second into louder and louder volume with more instruments and effects being added continuously, staying true to the definition of the original progressive rock created by such legends as Led Zeppelin. By the time the last track "Klarheit" is in its finishing moments, the album is peaking with a mixture of psychedelic elements such as echoing feedback and keyboards, and ordinary progressive rock elements like the military-like pace-setting drums, atmospheric bass soundscapes and guitar effects.

The album opened for me on the very last listen before writing the review. When I tried to listen to it on the background while doing something else, it sounded like it was stumbling upon its own creativeness, but once you just lie on your bed and focus on the music, it opens to you and you realize that every single sound, effect and piece of tone is exceptionally well thought out and arranged together to create a symphony of ambiguity, mystery and harmony. This is an album for those special moments where you just want something extraordinarily beautiful and breath-taking - It's like visiting the rainforest for the first time and seeing how every piece of it interrelates and works together to create perfection, and taking a few steps back to enjoy the genuine astonishment of seeing or hearing something perfect. Tune up the volume for this one.


Download: Parhelion
For the fans of: Black Dice, Melt Banana, Knut

Release date 21.11.2005
Conspiracy Records
Provided by Target ApS

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