SUMER is a Post-Metal/Prog-Rock, Crossover band formed in London, UK, in 2010. As far as I can tell, this is their debut album, containing nine tracks.

"Introspect" has a subtle and suspenseful opening sound, with some soft chanting done in a minor key. It builds slowly with vocal harmonies and minimal ambient background music. "Chisel" enters unassumingly, with a simple mid-tempo riff that soon gives way to a harder sound. At any point you feel like the track is going to go full-bore as it eventually does. The vocals are eerie and subdued for the most part, and you can really feel the Prog nature of the band's sound. The chorus is marked by fast picked guitar notes, swirling around you like you were in an opium den, relaxed and unfazed.

The instrumental "Progenesis" has a slightly swifter pace, and perhaps a darker, deeper sound that is carried by the dissonance of the main riff. It really has a guttural, earthy approach, like something coming out of a well without a bottom. The title track, "The Animal You Are," is prettier, but the coyness is poured over a base of despair. For the final minute and a half though it picks up in a "jamming" style format, hitting hard like bricks falling from the sky. "Veins" is a seven minute song that takes you on a trippy journey. I liken it to a slow stroll through a field of unique and vibrant flowers while a stormy sky looms overhead. Indeed, the steady, constant sound rides squarely between excitement and austerity. The way they are able to make this alluring without being bold is exactly the genius of this song.

By contrast, "Pinch, Cut" is more fearless and demonstrative, using again a heavy, low riff and plenty of oppressive suggestibility, like a meter in your mind that is directing you where to go. "Lure" is somewhere in between the dark and heavy realm and the light and airy side of the album. I have to say that there must be some degree of influence by the band PORCUPINE TREE because I am constantly reminded of some similarities. "Vincent West" delivers on more of the softer and sweeter side of the album, where you are swept up in soaring melodies and harmonies.

"End of Sense" closes the album in grand fashion, clocking in at over eight minutes. Interestingly, the song is able to retain a core sound but frequently taking on changes in direction and instrumentation. I think here is where you can really hear the complexities of the album but done in a way that you can understand and relate with.

I feel like this album is ushering in a new, modern phase of Progressive music, and it's all about the feeling that you have from the overall ambience of the tracks. It is both heavy and gentle at times, but never fails to deliver on an air of mystery, making the listening experience as enjoyable as it is provoking.