Canvas Solaris – The Atomized Dream

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Sensory Records
Produced by Nathan Sapp

Hard-working progressive instrumentalists Canvas Solaris follow up 2007′s Cortical Tectonics in just thirteen months with another disc of new material, and have in fact been producing flawless new albums every year since 2003, missing only 2005.

Founded by guitarist Nathan Sapp and drummer Hunter Ginn the outfit has previously always been a trio, originally with bassist Jimmy McCall, who was replaced by Ben Simpkins for debut EP Spacial/Design in 2003. Simpkins left prior to the recording of The Atomized Dream, and has been replaced with three new members. Now with the addition of ex-Novum Organum/The Universe Divide members Chris Rushing (guitar) and Gael Pirlo (bass), plus keyboard/synth player Donnie Smith, they have expanded their sound to something much more atmospheric than before.

Opener The Binaural Beat sounds like a progressive extrapolation of an ’80s suspense movie theme tune and is their most ambient piece to date, with none of the usual distorted guitars or Dream Theater-meets-Megadeth riffs. The more familiar John Petrucci-esque guitar tones return on Reflections Carried To Mirror, and the band demonstrate their incredible ability to mix complexity and melody in equal parts within their technical metal framework. From then on it’s the kind of Canvas Solaris listeners will be used to.

The addition of the keyboards and extra layers of guitar give the band a much stronger sound, here on previous albums some parts of some songs could sound a little thin, the additional instrumentation fleshes out parts here that would have been similarly affected. The middle of Heat Distortion Manifest is a little difficult to listen to and loses some of the normally masterful grasp of intricate melody the band normally display, and when it fades out half way through it could easily be two different songs (the dark, oppressive second half being the better) were it not for the lead riff from the first recurring in the second.

As full of different melodies and riffs as a Canvas Solaris album is, it feels like they need more ideas on this one. When so many of the distorted guitar parts follow a surprisingly basic formula of quick flourishes separated by pauses to an less-than-regular time signature, a few too many similarities between songs start to become apparent. The introduction of more ambient moods like the opening track, and the first half of Photovoltaic add something new, but that’s only a small part of the overall. This is still good, but not their most impressive effort to date, despite the new sounds.

“ intricate melody ”

Tracklist: The Binaural Beat / Reflections Carried To Mirror / Chromatic Dusk / Patterns Spiral Into Swarm / Heat Distortion Manifest / Photovoltaic / Solar Droid / The Unknowable And Defeating Glow

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2008, Albums, Instrumental, Progressive, Canvas Solaris