Harvyst – Winter
Michigan’s Harvyst are a technology driven band with some very adventurous ideas. Stylistically lurking somewhere between Godflesh, old Pitchshifter, Neurosis and the voice sampling of more mainstream bands such as NIN, the 3 tracks on “Winter” are found to be very dark sounding and infinitely layered into a pulsing force of electronic perversity. The guitar tone is completely unique, feeling very full, yet there is this high-end bite to it that sounds almost electronically manipulated. From pitch vocals to a deeper yelling style that fills the listener with the artists misery, the swirling deliveries intertwine and add to the 3 dimensional attack of this band. Unfortunately, it is amazing how bad the production is on this demo. Everything can be heard, but many of the vocal samples get lost in the muddy stew, as does the bass tone… especially on “Ergot…” there is so much going on at the climax of this excellent song, that an impenetrable audio muck is created to confuse exactly what is going on. “Mercury” is a more electronic based track that produces a nice vibe, before awkwardly switching off into a guitar line that sounds like a mistake rather than a natural flow of the song before settling back into the main idea. The title track is the perfect union between the electronics and guitars. More distinct riff ideas seep out of the digitally distorted wash (this is a CDR release) to sit perfectly among the once again layered vocal styles. After repeated listens, there is a definite musical excitement on display here that doesn’t fear combining several musical styles and their influences to come up with something new, impressive and challenging. I’m really looking forward to a professional recording of this and other material by Harvyst. With the right sound and proper backing, this band could be huge. – Marty
ACIDVICTIM RECORDS
Worm Gear 