Exhibit A: The Fall of the Damned, Peter Paul Rubens, Oil on canvas (ca. 1620). This legendary Flemish piece didn't seem to be so popular during its heyday, with more attention drawn to it after a 1959 vandalism, where a complete idiot threw acid on its front. Thankfully, it didn't sustain major damage. I've seen this painting before, not in an art museum, but on the cover of avant-garde metal albums: Mirar's debut thall record Ascension, the Dutch brutal prog trio Albatre's aptly titled The Fall of the Damned, and more. While not avant-garde, Blossom Cult's first alternative prog LP, Home, and its three lead singles, all feature this classic painting... a sign of a trend concerning out-there releases, perhaps?

Blossom Cult is a new project hailing from Germany, with only two previous extended plays under their belt. Since their formation, they've been developing a classic blend of progressive and alternative metal, fifteen tracks of which are compiled here, in Home. It's a huge release for them; it's clearly been in the recording process for a while, because Home houses more music than both of their EPs combined. I find this a problem, as the shitload of content makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts. I can't pick many tracks to individually highlight like I normally would in a review. The song-to-runtime ratio warns that the songs aren't lengthy prog epics: five-something minutes at the most. Three of those are interludes, titled differently colored pills (red, black, white). The progressive influences come from instrumentation, of course, being angular, oddly-timed, and guitar-heavy. Sometimes chuggy, sometimes soaring. I wouldn't know when exactly--I'm drowning in material here.

The alternative metal aspects, mainly the record's attitude and the vocals that deliver it, are often weak when clean. When not assisted by featured vocalists from Pain of Salvation (Leo Margarit), Audiogazer (Andreas Kübler), and others, Janos's moody cleans are tenuous and at the front of the mix. His harsh singing is a different story. They're also of an alternative ilk, but stronger. Songs with his rasps or occasional gutturals are far above those that lack such. Electronic elements are plentiful, something I attribute more to alt than prog. Their subtle nature isn't as apparent as the orchestral/choral elements, though. Janos is also credited for their arrangements, and in choruses and atmospheric parts, they fit nicely. Baroque, like the painting, if you will. Moon is a suitable example of Blossom Cult's knowledge in this field, combining the mentioned Baroque-ness with symphonic melodicism. To be fair, they're knowledgeable in all the fields they play in (prog, alt, etc.), but at some point, the fields start to blend into one expanse.

If Home didn't feel like such a looming listen upon its promo landing in my view, I would've gotten to it quicker. I feel like I'd enjoy Blossom Cult's material more in their usual shorter batches. If Home filled its fifty-something-minute runtime with a few lengthy progressive epics, I'd be on board. Trust me. I'm not one to throw acid.