Music: East of the Wall: Farmer's Almanac

Our Take

Although there are still plenty of music fans who miss The Postman Syndrome, there is no denying that their breakup has resulted in plenty of new material on a regular basis from a variety of different yet related groups. First up this year was the posthumous release of the Day Without Dawn album (who went on to become Biclops), and now Forgotten Empire Records has brought us the debut release from East of the Wall, another band formed from ex TPS members. On their first album, Farmer’s Almanac, the group demonstrates their ability to put together some complex and addictive instrumental progressive rock/metal, and is sure to become a new favorite for many listeners.

There are some moments throughout the course of Farmer’s Almanac that see the drum and guitar work become extremely heavy and heard towards progressive metal territory, but the majority of the album is focused on melodic and constantly changing progressive/math rock. East of the Wall is constantly coming up with new rhythmic ideas throughout the course of each song, but whether the transitions are slow or fast they always feel deliberately and precisely calculated. The material on this album feels a lot more polished than your average instrumental group, and because of this Farmer’s Almanac is admittedly a bit more interesting to listen to. However, if there is one flaw it would be that this release is only about forty minutes in length and is comprised of eight songs. While the material here is extremely satisfying, it seems to end before it truly begins and listeners will be begging for more.

East of the Wall definitely impress, and despite the feeling that this album could’ve been longer it is still one of my favorite progressive rock/metal releases of the year. The songs on this disc are all very addictive and combine spastic riffs with laid back, jazzy tunes that are sure to please. East of the Wall has proven that they are one of the few groups out there who can stay purely instrumental in a genre like this, and seeing as they are already beginning to record another album fans shouldn’t have to wait long to hear from this band again. Yet another group to develop out of the TPS breakup has succeeded, and now we just have to wait and see what Biclops will bring to the table.

http://www.forgottenempirerecords.com/

Chris Dahlberg
September 25, 2008