Ex Eye - Ex Eye

While a little more drone-y in some places than I usually like my progressive metal served up, Ex Eye’s semi-fringe saxophonic approach to long, winding compositions is unique enough and dynamic enough to hold my fixation, even if a more subdued form of fixation by the wall of somewhat distorted sound. Devoid of lyrics and almost any vocals (I think I hear a few echoed choral vocals in the first track), the album relies on subtle and gradual shifts in tone made entirely by its cloudy instrumentals to maintain its interest and directionality, which it often does only to a limited degree. It’s certainly an interesting progressive metal project, but I think a little bit more focus on crafting more dynamic songs and playing more with the dynamic of each involved instrument, perhaps trading off leads; I think it would lead to less easily anticipated songs and more thrilling performances. The chemistry between the sax and the guitars is nice, but the album needs more grooming to be more than background-level prog metal.