The brainchild of ex-Eternal Essence members Greg Rosenblit and Josh Adams, Echo Rhythm is an instrumental progressive outfit containing a mixture of metal, rock, and ambient influences for this debut album The Program. Not totally without words, the duo incorporates narrative and soundbite elements that provide additional context to the atmosphere and emotional register these musicians wish to portray in these six tracks. The experimentation between shorter, focused ideas and one longer epic arrangement showcases the multi-faceted outlook, painting broad soundscape strokes that can be equally calm and alluring as they may be heavier, aggressive, or thought-provoking.
The hopeful messages of ‘we want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery’ contrast the greed and exploitative elements for “Corrupted Earth”, as a cascading array of bass parts, thunderstorms, and softer keyboards set the stage for the Tool meets Opeth-esque progressive push and pull musicianship – the darker guitar tones meshing in a metallic sheen against the impassioned narrative. Greg willingly serves up a multitude of piano/keyboard parts, layering them in a cinematic escapade for the listener to absorb, process, and reflect upon. Josh possesses a vibrant bass style, progressive and alternative with a host of 90’s-oriented vibes -the uplifting “Under a Red Sky” a definitely highlight as the gothic-style guitars penetrate in a latter-day Sentenced context. Symphonic vibes pull closer “This Side of Darkness” along Nightwish/Kamelot-esque pastures, the guitar work very emotive and soothing. Taking on a world of today through predictions of the past, The Program encapsulates a time travel aural odyssey that isn’t too technical to grasp – these musicians always thinking of specific hook accents while still being very adventurous in their parts. The 12:25 opener “100 Years” gives Echo Rhythm a chance to display every tool at their disposal: progressive interplay, layers of narrative and musical ambiance, heavier/doom sections, soothing calm, almost new age/post-rock engagement, and majestic grace towards the ending moments.
Instrumental outings can be more than just intricate showcases that only appeal to schooled musicians. Echo Rhythm have released a fine debut outing for The Program – and should be a launching pad that can be alluring to watch grow for future releases.