Sleight of Hand
Dissidents
•
March 18, 2015

DISSIDENTS is a Progressive Melodic Metal band based out of the Netherlands. Formed in 2012, the band recorded the album together before doing gigs or releasing an EP to try to get a label. The album title refers to the band's assertion that "we are living in a society where creating illusions, by media, politicians, and religious authorities alike, has become more commonplace than portraying reality as it really is."
The album contains eleven tracks. "Victory Song" wastes no time coming at you full speed, with main riff that spans more than one time meter, and sweet vocal harmonies. It is just heavy enough to lie somewhere between Hard and Heavy Metal, and I can't help but hear influence from Prog greats like DREAM THEATER and the like. As expected, musicianship is on full display as well. "Outer Circle" is a bit darker and heavier, and a song where the rhythm guitar and drums in particular really carries the track. Though the vocal harmonies are omnipresent, an overall sense of one main melody is difficult to detail. "The Aimless Ones" is another provocative and ever-evolving song. On the surface it seems to meander in a circuitous route until you listen to it again and connect the passages. My head is swimming at the thought of playing this challenging material live. "Imminence" carries a consistent melody amidst a landscape littered with key and meter chances and an overall dominating guitar riff.
"Dead End" goes in deep and with an air of maleficence. This might be the most indicative track of the overall sound to the album. Each musical element seems to be in direct conflict with one another, yet the synergy that results is strong. Hooks and simple melodies are just not the norm here. Closing the album is "Figure of Speech," which has a heavy bottom end and suspenseful tones. The instrumentation here is especially tight, pummeling your senses with a staccato attack. How the band describes the album is entirely true. Their take on the genre is indeed very unique.
Like a good story, there are so many creative nuances going on that you cannot pick up in with just listen, and the dynamic shifting keeps the listener constantly guessing the direction. The only real constant is the dual harmonic vocals that permeate each track in the same manner. I might have liked to hear some variation in this approach that I think would have brought some more depth to the overall sound.
8 / 10
Excellent

"Sleight of Hand" Track-listing:
1. Victory Song
2. Asylum
3. Outer Circle
4. Years Gone By
5. The Aimless Ones
6. Imminence
7. Eve of Sunsets
8 .Undercurrents
9. Dead End
10. Figure of Speech
Dissidents Lineup:
Joris Bod - Vocals
Raymon Van Vught - Guitar
Joep Joosten - Guitar
Willem Elbers - Bass
Matthieu Boer - Drums
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