SVET KANT is an Experimental Metal four-piece band based out of Dublin, though Santiago Kodela, founding member, hails from Argentina. Their second album, "The Visage Unbiased," was released by Worm Hole Death on May 31 this year. Worm Hole Death's tagline is "The critical thinking in music." With SVET KANT on their label, they pretty much live into that promise.

"The Visage Unbiased" is a mind-blowing, ear-bending experience. While you're not likely to walk around humming catchy melodies from the album, you'll probably return to it over and over again to explore its intricacies. "The Visage Unbiased" is like a really good but complex book or movie. The more you interface with it, the more it yields itself and you begin to notice aspects you missed previously.

So what does an Experimental Metal band actually experiment with? While there are variations of time signatures, shifting harmonic scales, and everything between grinding discord and melodic synchronization, what SVET KANT really experiments with is expectation. Although Metal has an extremely diverse and ever-growing set of subgenres, there are definite parameters and biases at work. SVET KANT tests those boundaries. At times they examine a single theme. "The Cogs of Envy," for instance, is an incredibly intense but unified track. "Circular" is another track remarkable for its inherent consistency, though it significantly differs from the rest of the album. And then there is "A Gaze Indifferent to Your Suffering" and "Personae Contra Natura" which defy anything you might anticipate moment by moment.

While all the tracks are all good in their own right, the ones that most appealed to me were the more linear, heavier tunes such as "The Throne" and "An Overlapping of Feelings - Part I, II, III." Another standout track is "Faceless Being," a multi-layered composition reminiscent of KING CRIMSON without the keyboards and lyrically like a mad fusion between Lovecraft and Freud.

There are a lot of surprises on "The Visage Unbiased": The seven-string guitars, the eruptive solos-guitars and drums-the guest appearance of Rebecca Rodgers (soprano, Northern Ireland Opera). There are also a few patterns that help the listener to find their grounding such as the intro piece, "Delirium (Introitus)," which allows a little less than two minutes for buckling up. There are slow tempo pieces at the halfway and end points. The first, "Circular," acts as a buffer to allow the listener time to breathe and reflect; the second, "Sea of Planets," closes the album. The final lines, "Turn and stare deep down into this black realm / Close my eyes and go," effectively ushers the listener out.
All together, "The Visage Unbiased" is a fascinating album. Leave your expectations at the door and let SVET KANT guide you through some new territories. You won't be disappointed.