SERVERS are an Alternative Metal band formed in 2012 in Barnsley in the UK. The Vertical Plane is their fourth album and self-produced.

"Absolom" starts off with drums on a wave of synths before "What's all this doomsday stuff?" announces a heavy downbeat ALICE IN CHAINS like grungy riff. The chorus reminded me of GOJIRA and there's a nice lead guitar later in the track. All in all a promising opening track.

"Try To Get Some Sleep" is one of my favourite tracks with a much more traditional metal riff. The track is well produced and definitely has a different feel to the first track. The chorus is impactful and catchy:

"Hearing voices there... are no sounds (Try to get some sleep)
Seeing people that...aren't around (Try to get some sleep)"

There's some nice fast thrashy guitar and it's a superb track.

"King of Nothing" has a similar feel to "Absolom" with a similar grungy feel. The chorus is majestic with some great lyrics:

"When you look down at me from your
Down from your castle made of sand
Remember that when the tide comes in
It'll sweep all your sand back to the sea
And you'll be king of nothing and I'll be watching as you fall."

There's some mid-paced chug before it speeds off into a more traditional rock theme and then returns to the chorus.

On the strength of the first three tracks, the following track "Crimson Tide" fails to excite with too much going on and not really being very cohesive as a track.

There's a very echoey guitar introducing "Here, There and Everywhere" which is a more restrained track and has a definite 80s feel. It does get slightly repetitive though there's a nice echoey wah-wah solo towards the end of the track. It's not bad but pales to the first three tracks.

The six minute "Despond to Despair" is much more atmospheric, opening with a throbbing bass and drum intro before a crushing dark riff crashes in. There's a deep melancholy to the verse which conveys loss and despair. It's certainly one of the better tracks though it suffers from a muddy production.

"Stranglehold" has one of the heavier riffs of the album but the verse and chorus are a bit nondescript to be honest.

"You Still Come Willingly" starts off with a polka - it's something crazy you'd expect from SYSTEM OF A DOWN but it's a bit of a drag despite some blasts of heavier riffage.

"Incorruption" is the longest track (6 ½ mins) and starts with a doomy riff before a staccato riff  reminding me of GOJIRA propels the song forward. There's a fast catchy verse and some nice thrashy lead guitar. There's some slower rhythm and great melody lines towards the end of the track before ending with spoken word about religion and suicide.

The Vertical Plane is a bit of an odd album in that it tries to do too many things and lacks coherence on some of the tracks. The first three tracks are excellent but the rest of the tracks fail to meet those lofty heights.  Many of the later tracks failed to grab my interest which is a shame because there is some great musicianship on display. This is my first "serving" of their music but whilst the starter was artfully crafted, the main meal was lacking in excitement and the dessert left a weird taste in my mouth though some of it was quite nice.

So in summary you might like it but it certainly won't be to everyone's taste (sorry)