LATTERMATH, a Progressive Metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, debut their first full-length album containing ten tracks. They have an opening slot on "The New Reign Tour" on March 11 with FIRE FROM THE GODS, WITHIN RUINS, OCEANS ATE ALASKA, VOLUMES, and BORN OF OSIRIS, and the Worchester Palladium. "Bottomless" is a mood setting opening instrumental. Swirls of mist that seem innocent at first hint at the sinister comings of "Trench." A heavy Djent Progressive sound with fierce Death vocals await...a chugging rhythm and severely weighted bottom end wrestle with the clean vocal harmonies in a union that is seamless. An interlude of sorts appears at the half-way mark and connects the second half of the track nicely. The ethereal opening of "Homunculus Theory" is a nice change of pace. The drawn out vocal notes carry you over top of the ultra-heavy instrumentation, and the maddening drumming of Luske-Simone really stand out here. It builds into a nice crescendo of battling parts that show deep complexity while still being able to understand.

"Ionsphere" features some dissonance between the respective keys of vocals and instrumentation in an oddly pleasing way. Tender moments of clean guitar passages with softly whispered notes and piano fully expose unabashed melodies that tear at your heart. There is a nice segue into "Arbiter," as the melodies here shine brightly and take on several different patterns of warmth. The guitar solo is on expert level and really helps you connect with the beauty of the song as a whole. The crushing heaviness of their sound returns towards the end but does not overtake the wondrous melodies presented here. So as not to make you too comfortable with the sublime, "Redemption" is a straight-at-you track of darkness and brutality that is complimented with harmonies but not led forward by them. Instead there is chaos and bloodshed like a maniacal killer on the loose, especially with the meter of the song which is mind-bogglingly amorphous.

"Caves" was the first single released from the album. Talk about a song that really draws you in...the clean guitars are absolutely hypnotic, and the vocal harmonies soar above like a clearing in dark skies that lead you to safety. Sometimes I have a VOLA or ELDEROTH vibe in the back of my head when I listen to this. All in all, it is an outstanding track. The juxtaposition between the title of the song "Death" and the actual sound is brilliant, as the Reaper can come to you with great treachery and grandiosity, or end you without the slightest of sound. "Breathing Again" is a track that offers both bone-crushing rhythms and complete clarity at other times without a clear winner, like two seasoned vipers locked in a pit to the death, each not able to catch the other off guard. This meaty, eight-minute track is really what superior Progressive Metal is all about.

"Broken Glass" closes the listening experience. There is piano, some light programming, ethereal vocals, and haunting echoes, like the reverberations of a ghostly presence in the catacombs of a church long since forgotten. Rich in character and vast in intrigue, there is a whole lot to like about this debut album from LATTERMATH. Refined grace combine with brutal rhythms and textures that pick up the very best of what this genre has to offer. This isn't your father's Progressive Metal, but rather a trail of complex yet accessible sound that they have blazed on their own, and with their own unique branding. It is also an album that gets better with each new listen and really points strongly to the future of the genre. Would someone please sign this band now!?