Noir (Noir - Callisto)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Noir - Callisto
Date:	06/04/08 (33 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Skilled and progressive post-metal.

Disadvantages: Still suffers the anxiety of influence.

There's nothing inherently flawed in Callisto's approach to post-metal, but their reliance on established sounds prevents them from being one of the major players, while their music's emphasis on atmosphere and experience means that almost nothing will be memorable once the hour is over. The major difference between 'Noir' and the previous album is just how much the band seems intent on packing into each song here, something that makes it impossible to recall just which song is which without multiple repeat plays, especially as most tracks wind up in a completely different place to their beginnings.

One improvement that may or may not have been intentional is the diminished presence of vocals in this album, allowing for tracks that are entirely instrumental and others that just seem that way. Once again, the band balances heaviness and melody in a perfect fusion, demonstrated most succinctly in the opening song, while various points in the album choose to favour one style over the other. There's also a commendable tendency towards progression here, most expressly realised by the saxophone presence in 'Wormwood' and the changeable styles as the album continues, before the last two songs make a somewhat disappointing return to established form.

1. Wormwood
2. Latterday Saints
3. The Fugitive
4. Backwoods
5. A Close Encounter
6. Pathos
7. Folkslave
8. Woven Hands

Summary: Callisto's second album (2006).