IRIS DIVINE

Now then, here's something rather exciting - the new album from America's Iris Divine, titled 'Karma Sown'. Press blurb (lifted from the band's own Facebook page) would have you believe they play "a brand of emotional, progressive hard rock/metal not quite like anything else out there". While their blend of rock, metal, prog, and alternative elements are seamlessly fused, Iris Divine are, stylistically, nothing new. So many others have adhered to an amalgam of said styles and, in some cases, succeeded. However, what makes Iris Divine stand out is the way in which they fuse each of these elements - through both some natural sounding arrangements and the sheer energy they manage to convey in doing so. Oh yes, that energy, and this is precisely why I'm so excited about 'Karma Sown'. Combined with the naturally inclined innovation that's discernible throughout the entire album (not one passage of music sounds forced... even the sporadicity of polyrhythmic arpeggio runs and staccato-based syncopated sections), it's an infectiously potent blend that's flawlessly executed. Rarely does an album have so much of a dynamic impetus, particularly one with such an innovative streak, but 'Karma Sown' achieves just that. And, remarkably, they're only a three-piece, featuring Navid Rashid on guitars/vocals, bassist Brian Dobbs and Kris Combs behind the kit. Okay, their sound is filled out here and there with Combs' further contributions on keys and programming but, in essence, it's infectiously audacious music they've succeeded at crafting through their core sound, accentuated by Rashid's expressively compelling vocals. Produced by the band themselves and mixed by Drew Mazurek, the album also sounds amazing, with instrumentations fleshed out with just the right amount of recorded punch, and blended perfectly in the mix. If you believe that progressive music has become a little stagnant and self-imitative, but you still like a few familiar sonic handles in your music, then check out Iris Divine immediately, for you will not be disappointed.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Sensory

Album

KARMA SOWN

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

48:58

RELEASE DATE:

13th April 2015

TRACK LISTING

1) The Everlasting Sea
2) Fire of the Unknown
3) A Suicide Aware
4) Mother's Prayer
5) Prisms
6) In Spirals
7) Apathy Rains
8) In the Wake of Martyrs

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

USA

"Rarely does an album have so much of a dynamic impetus, particularly one with such an innovative streak..."