The third instalment titled 3 of 5 of Believers 5 piece long EP was out on 31st October 2017, released by Trauma Team production and mixed by Kevin Gutierrez at Assembly Line Studios and mastered by Bill Wolf of Wolf Productions. They gained much worldwide recognition for their boundary-breaking, artistic form of progressive metal music. Their early albums had collaborations between metal and orchestral musicians which sealed the band’s legacy. Believer’s focus on creativity and innovation earned praise from fans and musicians worldwide.
Believer, which is an American technical thrash metal band from the late 1980s and early 1990s, is known for playing a hybrid of thrash and progressive metal, using innovative symphonic elements in thrash metal. Their lyrics deal with topics of philosophy, theology and social issues. The two primary members of the band are vocalist/guitarist Kurt Bachman and drummer Joey Daub, who were joined by several others after their 1989 debut album, Extraction from Mortality.
In a press release, Believer explain that their aim with the 2017 releases was to combine the Believer sound with some of the bands that influenced them in the early days, with the likes of Kansas, Tool and Rush. The lyrics are intelligent, as always, from a band whose members have taken a very intentional approach to life and worldview formation.
The first song on this EP, “Imagine Dragons”, sets out a mellow soundscape from the start. Plenty of subdued Electronica elements give it an eerie backdrop. A techno-electric claps on the drums coupled with the pounding bass on a slow tempo sounds terrific, where the guitars adds flavor to the melody and the raw and coarse vocal tones make it perfect blend of grunge meets ambient post rock. The song ends with an ambient backdrop.
But the second song on the EP, “King of Oz ” takes a shift in sound and is of a faster pace. The guitar chugs are crisp and catchy, the bass rumbles with a full tone which can’t be missed, blast beats are quite evident but doesn’t really blow you away. The vocal style resembles to that of the previous song. The interlude gives you a breather while not losing you off completely. Plenty eager to hear what comes from their fourth instalment!
Production – The production on the EP is brilliant, the tones are perfectly balanced. The ambience is coherent and gives the songs a sense of completion.
Conclusion – With two songs being released with every EP, they put their listeners on a cliff-hanger, and are wary of the fact that would work in their favor, as I cant wait for the next one!
Rating: 8/10
Written by: Ankit Sood
Track listing:
1. Imagine Dragons
2. King of Oz
Band Members
Kevin Leaman – guitars
Jeff King – keyboards, programming, guitars, bass
Joey Daub – drums
Kurt Bachman – bass, vocals, guitars
Discography
“The Return” (Demo, 1987)
“Extraction from Mortality” (1989)
“Sanity Obscure” (1990)
‘Stop the Madness’ (Single, 1991)
“The Ultimate Collectors Video:Home Video” (Video, 1991)
“The Breed Beyond” (Split, 1993)
“Dimensions” (1993)
“Gabriel” (2009)
“Transhuman” (2011) [review]
“1 of 5” (Single, 2017) [review]
“2 of 5” (Single, 2017) [review]
“3 of 5” (Single, 2017)
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Bandcamp
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission