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Album Reviews : Scoredatura – Honest Oblivion

By on January 14, 2018

Australia, and indeed the world, is awash with superb all-instrumental acts, and you can add the name Scoredatura to that illustrious and ever-growing canon of artists.

One of the band members, six-string slinger Jake Howsom Lowe, also plays in fellow Sydney-based instrumental act The Helix Nebula. While both bands mine similar musical veins, and would unquestionably appeal to each other’s fans, Scoredatura eases back a little on the tech insanity accelerator, cuts back on the tsunami of notes that THN hurl at you at a bazillion miles an hour, in favour of a slightly more groove-based approach that allows the compositions, the instrumentation, and indeed the listener, to breath.

Personally, I love both approaches, depending on the mood.

Don’t be fooled though, these boys can still play like masters, they just have a slightly more subtle way of showing it. An intentionally garagey-sounding opening leads into the stomping groove of Kananga, whose odd-time momentum builds almost unbearable tension and keeps you enjoyably on edge for much of its seven and a half minute length. Always the Same ups the frenetic ante just a touch, and throws in some blisteringly melodic lead guitar lines that send the listener into the stratosphere. This track absolutely fails to live up to its name, and this motif carries right throughout this highly diverse collection of vocal-free tracks.

Everywhere across the course of Honest Oblivion do fat, powerful but dissonant and interesting grooves abound. Obviously the levels of musicianship and production are absolutely top-notch, and the compositions themselves are super-catchy whilst simultaneously keeping you guessing, right through to the intentionally repetitive outro of the rip-snorting nine minute plus title track that closes proceedings.

If you haven’t copped onto what’s happening in the somewhat esoteric but ultimately ridiculously rewarding world of instrumental progressive music, do so today, for you are depriving yourself of much musical pleasure. And Honest Oblivion is not a bad place to start.

Band: Scoredatura
Album: Honest Oblivion
Year: 2018
Genre: Progressive Instrumental Metal
Label: Independent
Origin: Australia

About

Rod Whitfield is a Melbourne-based writer and retired musician who has been writing about music since 1995. He has worked for Team Rock, Beat Magazine, themusic.com.au, Heavy Mag, Mixdown, The Metal Forge, Metal Obsession and many others. He has written and published his memoirs of his life and times in the music biz, and also writes books, screenplays, short stories, blogs and more.