INTERVALS | The Way Forward | Album Review

As 2017 comes to a somewhat satisfying close, there are definitely some interesting albums that are getting dropped in the last month of the year. One of those albums is the third-full length from progressive instrumental metal band Intervals, titled "The Way Forward". If you're unaware, I was a huge fan of their first album "A Voice Within" and it's one of my favorite albums of the past five or so years. But, it's also the only album where they tried out the full band dynamic by adding a lead singer and tacking the dynamic of writing lyrics. Every other piece of work from Intervals is instrumental, and that's exactly the case here with "The Way Forward". Very curiously enough, it's also their second album to not be written with a low seven-string tuning following their previous effort "The Shape Of Color". So, right off the bat, Intervals is a very unique product as all of these factors come into play as well as the fact that the only consistent member of the group is the band's brainchild Aaron Marshall, even though other people do work with him on these records to provide instrumentation like basslines and drum parts. So, what is to be expected this time around from this heavily overlooked and highly talented band on this album? As we look at the album's eight tracks, we will definitely get an idea. 

Instrumental music can be a challenge to talk about and describe because there isn't that lyrical dynamic involved that gives a song a message or some kind of emotion. It's the music involved that's actually doing the storytelling or giving off a certain feeling of emotion. And that's really the charm of instrumental music in my opinion, and you definitely get excellent moments on this album that showcase a batch of different styles such as the album's first two tracks "Touch And Go" and "Impulsively Responsible". "Touch And Go" particularly starts off the album with a lot of kinesis that's used wisely, while also going from technical to melodic smoothly, with all of the soundscapes involved having beautiful vibes. The same could be said for "Impulsively Responsible" which has a unique funky flavor with its guitarwork, as well as later tracks on the record such as "By Far And Away", which takes the disc in a slower direction that works very nicely, and "Belvedere", which borrows elements from "Touch And Go" as being beautiful but also well calculated and constructed. If there is one thing to point out that could be percieved as a flaw to some listeners, it's that a lot of these songs sound a bit similar to each other like "Rubicon Artist" and "The Waterfront". The difference is that even though there's a similarity between the songs, none of these moments feel like they bog down the experience and you're still along for the ride and amazed at everything that the musicality is bringing out. All of this leads to the closing track "Leave No Stone" which reveals to fans of "A Voice Within" and the "In Time" EP that there's still a djent side to this band even though there isn't a wide variety of octaves in the six-string guitars used to create these songs. 

Overall, this is an interesting and satisfying album to check out. There's really only one song on this album that is just okay in the form of "A Different Light", but there isn't anything on the album that sticks out in a negative way or feels disjointed. All of this is masterful instrumental madness that showcases how talented Aaron Marshall is as a guitarist and how well calculated the entire disc really is. My personal preference in terms of Intervals' discography is still "A Voice Within" because of how impactful that effort was to me and how blown away I was, and while I don't get that here with "The Way Forward", there is still some excellent musicianship that comes with this album and there's a lot of stuff I think people will enjoy in this album, even if you're a newcomer. It shows that there is a major charm involved when listening to instrumental music and it isn't just one sound and one dynamic being repeated ad nauseum throughout the entire album in order to craft a complete collection of tracks. And on the progressive side, not every element has to be necessarily heavy and influenced by djent riffage. Albums like this are the quintessential proof of that idea. This album will please fans of multiple metal styles as well as people looking for beautiful material to listen to in 2017. 

RATING: 8/10 

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.