The Contortionist Megathread

[BIG ND SWEATY]

Doesn't matter the album you compare it to. Your expectations are just that, YOURS. "Ballsy" is making the album YOU want to make. That's what they did. That's my point.

That's fair, neither one of us is going to have our opinions changed by arguing about it though, we both like the album and that's all that really matters.

 

[wankerness]

Just listened to this. Weirdly, it sounded to me like the polished version of Tesseract's Altered State, with some Oceansize-Trail of Fire thrown in on a few songs for good measure. I liked it a lot more than Altered State, but yeah, weird. It had a similar problem for me, too, which is that I find almost every song sounds like the climax and it gets draining so I have a hard time making it through in one sitting. I'll have to give it some more time to digest.

 

[wankerness]

Just listened to this. Weirdly, it sounded to me like the polished version of Tesseract's Altered State, with some Oceansize-Trail of Fire thrown in on a few songs for good measure. I liked it a lot more than Altered State, but yeah, weird. It had a similar problem for me, too, which is that I find almost every song sounds like the climax and it gets draining so I have a hard time making it through in one sitting. I'll have to give it some more time to digest.

 

[gorthul]

I also gave the album a listen now.
I honestly did NOT like Reimagined when I heard it first. Still don't like it that much and it feels a bit out of place on the album. By saying that, the rest of the album is absolutely fantastic. I think most of the critic would not be that harsh if they had used any other song to represent Clairvoyant than Reimagined.

 

[crg123]

I figured I should listen to the album before I replied but I feel like this album isn't as ballsy or risky as you made it out to be, if anything it sounds like an extension of Language. I think most people at this point realize that The Contortionist aren't going to be releasing another album like Exoplanet or anything thats going to be traditionally heavy. They're still doing their own thing which is great but the album isn't that risky. That being said I actually really enjoyed listening to it and ended up liking the singles when I heard them in the context of the full album. I'm not sure if I like it more than Language but it'll definitely be getting several listens from me.

I'm happy that they did what they wanted to do rather than what was expected but personally I loved the heavy/clean balance of language and my favorite album of theirs is still Intrinsic. Even though I wish they continued with that almost Cynic sound (super heavy parts then into beautiful cleans that could almost be another song) I respect they wanted to go to a different direction.

That said the album isn't personally for me after a few listens but thats ok, which is a bit disappointing. I'm glad a lot of people love it though, they're a very talented group of guys.

 

[Silence2-38554]

Now that the album has been out for a bit, I've found that I really enjoy taking a break from it for a few days, then re-listening to it start to finish. When it was first released, I had over-played the singles so much that they REALLY stuck out when playing back the whole album. Now everything is starting to blend together & become more cohesive, which is really great.......I still can't stand Relapse, though. The only good thing about that song is that I know my favorite two songs on the record come after it haha.

 

[lewis]

I'm happy that they did what they wanted to do rather than what was expected but personally I loved the heavy/clean balance of language and my favorite album of theirs is still Intrinsic. Even though I wish they continued with that almost Cynic sound (super heavy parts then into beautiful cleans that could almost be another song) I respect they wanted to go to a different direction.

That said the album isn't personally for me after a few listens but thats ok, which is a bit disappointing. I'm glad a lot of people love it though, they're a very talented group of guys.

I completely agree with your assessment as Im in the same boat.

This part at the end is why I think more and more bands are doing this. Its almost like a unnecessary showcasing of their talents at the detriment of the actual music. Yes technically its beautiful, and yes it takes a great amount of song writing ability to achieve these sorts of songs BUT...does all of that make it a good listen?. No not to me.
does all of that make it memorable/iconic?. No not for me.

in that aspect, its no different than sitting watching Michael Angelo Batio wank guitar solos over a double neck for 40 mins. Is it mind blowingly impressive? yeah. Does it make me actually like or care about him or his music?. no

 

[gfactor]

Is anyone else here doing the Gear Gods remix competition?
http://geargods.net/contests/contes...ems-and-you-could-win-a-toontrack-prize-pack/

Here's mine, would love to hear other people's take on this.
https://soundcloud.com/gfactor/the-contortionist-reimagined-re-imagined-by-greg-hendler

 

[Rational Gaze]

I've given this a few weeks to sink in a bit. My initial few listens were very underwhelming. I felt like the songs didn't really offer much separation from one another and the mood being sustained was a bit meandering. Return to Earth was really cool however, and I used that as my anchor to look forward to as I listened through the record.

Also, my favorite element of the band is Michael Lessard. Ever since I saw these guys perform live, his timbre, emotive delivery, and a really odd and individualistic stage presence completely locked me in. Hearing this record, his performance is phenomenal, but he spends so much time being buried in the music, that I just want to hear him louder. I mean, it's probably just me, but I struggled with this dynamic throughout.

With that said, the music began to really come around for me. What was once a bit bland started to thematically fuel this overreaching sadness that permeates the record. It is so melancholy and almost desperate to look for light (not in a bad way). I am appreciating that I had to work a little bit to let this open its door to me. It's a stunning album, front to back, and even though the vocals could stand to be a bit more dominant, I am able to embrace it now. I'm glad my patience paid off.

 

[squids]

Has anyone seen them live? I wanted to but had a big midterm the night they were playing about 2 hours away so couldn't make it. Wondering if their new songs have a different energy in a live setting.

 

[VigilSerus]

I completely agree with your assessment as Im in the same boat.

This part at the end is why I think more and more bands are doing this. Its almost like a unnecessary showcasing of their talents at the detriment of the actual music. Yes technically its beautiful, and yes it takes a great amount of song writing ability to achieve these sorts of songs BUT...does all of that make it a good listen?. No not to me.
does all of that make it memorable/iconic?. No not for me.

in that aspect, its no different than sitting watching Michael Angelo Batio wank guitar solos over a double neck for 40 mins. Is it mind blowingly impressive? yeah. Does it make me actually like or care about him or his music?. no

I don't understand this sentiment, because this is honestly their least "technical" album; Exoplanet has exceedingly far more "technical-for-the-sake-of-technical" moments, if you even want to call it that. If anything, Clairvoyant is a stripping down of fat and getting down to making music that has nothing but deliberate moves and composition.

On a personal note, I've been stuck replaying this album. I haven't been this excited and transfixed with an album in a long while, and I feel like it really is a worthy "successor" to Language. After reading what Michael had to say about the lyrical meaning and direction of both Language and Clairvoyant, I respected and enjoyed this album even more.

 

[Rational Gaze]

Has anyone seen them live? I wanted to but had a big midterm the night they were playing about 2 hours away so couldn't make it. Wondering if their new songs have a different energy in a live setting.

It's what actually made me a fan. I enjoyed their first record enough, and Language really piqued my interest. It wasn't until I saw them open for Tesseract in LA that it clicked. The band is great, but Michael Lessard is mesmerizing to watch perform. He adds so much to the entirety of the performance. It's unlike any vocalist I've seen. Since then, I've tried to see them as much as I possibly can. I can't wait til they are headlining around here.

 

[lemeker]

Has anyone seen them live? I wanted to but had a big midterm the night they were playing about 2 hours away so couldn't make it. Wondering if their new songs have a different energy in a live setting.

I saw them with Animals as Leaders and Between the Buried and Me a couple of years ago. I was still just getting into them and was only listening to Language at the time, and really went for Buried. What they played from that album was tight. It actually made me pay a little more attention. Personally glad I did.

Like Language, this new album is really growing on me. Miss some of the heavier stuff of old, but this new stuff is really good.

 

[squids]

It's what actually made me a fan. I enjoyed their first record enough, and Language really piqued my interest. It wasn't until I saw them open for Tesseract in LA that it clicked. The band is great, but Michael Lessard is mesmerizing to watch perform. He adds so much to the entirety of the performance. It's unlike any vocalist I've seen. Since then, I've tried to see them as much as I possibly can. I can't wait til they are headlining around here.

I saw them with Animals as Leaders and Between the Buried and Me a couple of years ago. I was still just getting into them and was only listening to Language at the time, and really went for Buried. What they played from that album was tight. It actually made me pay a little more attention. Personally glad I did.

Like Language, this new album is really growing on me. Miss some of the heavier stuff of old, but this new stuff is really good.

Ok cool but, let me rephrase my question:
Has anyone seen them play the Clairvoyant stuff live?

 

[wankerness]

I've given this a few weeks to sink in a bit. My initial few listens were very underwhelming. I felt like the songs didn't really offer much separation from one another and the mood being sustained was a bit meandering. Return to Earth was really cool however, and I used that as my anchor to look forward to as I listened through the record.

Also, my favorite element of the band is Michael Lessard. Ever since I saw these guys perform live, his timbre, emotive delivery, and a really odd and individualistic stage presence completely locked me in. Hearing this record, his performance is phenomenal, but he spends so much time being buried in the music, that I just want to hear him louder. I mean, it's probably just me, but I struggled with this dynamic throughout.

With that said, the music began to really come around for me. What was once a bit bland started to thematically fuel this overreaching sadness that permeates the record. It is so melancholy and almost desperate to look for light (not in a bad way). I am appreciating that I had to work a little bit to let this open its door to me. It's a stunning album, front to back, and even though the vocals could stand to be a bit more dominant, I am able to embrace it now. I'm glad my patience paid off.

I recently went back to this album and listened to it several times after my earlier post. My revised reaction was quite a bit like this guy's. I now think it's one of the very best prog metal albums of this decade. GREAT stuff. I can easily listen to it all in one sitting, I find it a lot more varied and not as suffocating as the Tesseract album I compared it to, and almost every song is great. My "way in" to it is mostly just the various grooves on it. Groove isn't exactly the right word, but I like that most of the songs maintain a specific rhythmic pattern and hold the time signature for a long time instead of spazzing all over the place.

 

[nyxzz]

Ok cool but, let me rephrase my question:
Has anyone seen them play the Clairvoyant stuff live?

I'll answer this 8 months late - yes I have and they're one of the best live bands I've ever seen

 

[Veldar]

Just listened to this. Weirdly, it sounded to me like the polished version of Tesseract's Altered State, with some Oceansize-Trail of Fire thrown in on a few songs for good measure. I liked it a lot more than Altered State, but yeah, weird. It had a similar problem for me, too, which is that I find almost every song sounds like the climax and it gets draining so I have a hard time making it through in one sitting. I'll have to give it some more time to digest.

ALTERED STATE???

Sign me up, where do I listen

 

[prlgmnr]

I, too, like this more today than I did last time I listened to it, which was when it came out.

 

[MickD7]

Has anyone seen them live? I wanted to but had a big midterm the night they were playing about 2 hours away so couldn't make it. Wondering if their new songs have a different energy in a live setting.

Yes, I caught them on their tour with Sikth. The Clairvoyant stuff live was pretty damn solid and they pulled off a nice half and half set of Clairvoyant material and Language material. I was really surprised at how incredibly tight these guys are at doing what they do. This was the first time I had seen them having missed the tours that had taken place before that. They did pull out one song from Exoplanet I have no idea which one as I didn’t really do the death core thing.

Sikth where pretty amazing as well and worth the spectacle for sure. I could take or leave the masses of white boys with dreadlocks living the Korn days all over again Thing.

If you get the chance to see The Contortionist on tour do it.

 

[RoRo56]

Yes, I caught them on their tour with Sikth. The Clairvoyant stuff live was pretty damn solid and they pulled off a nice half and half set of Clairvoyant material and Language material. I was really surprised at how incredibly tight these guys are at doing what they do.

I was wondering how they had done with the fill-in drummer, sounds like he was on point! Hopefully Joey will be back behind the kit shortly.