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Exivious: Exivious

Exivious: Exivious

Fusion/Progressive Metal
Rating: 4.0/5.0

Independent/Self-Promotion
www.exivious.net
www.myspace.com/exivious
Review: Ethan Hartranft
Added: 06.07.2009

Jazz fusion has always been a very foreign concept to me. I was never particularly interested in it until Exivious landed in front of me. Exivious contains members of Dutch band Textures and highly respected American progressive metal band, Cynic. However, while Cynic was a very death metal centric band, Exivious fully embraces the jazz fusion style. This is Exivious first, self-titled, album.

Exivious does an excellent job of combining the jazz and the metal elements of their music. Songs such as 'Ripple of a Tear' and 'The Path' feel very akin to early free-form jazz while 'Time and It's Changes' and 'Embrace the Unknown' are heavier and more metal than other tracks. The bass work in this album deserves special mention. Robin Zielhort knows how to craft a bass riff and assemble a bass line. Tymon's lead guitar is also extremely good, waxing and waning with the music. Other standouts include: 'Asurim' contains interesting guitar effects, 'All That Surrounds Parts 1&2' are soothing and beautiful, and 'Waves of Thought' begins slowly and moves into a satisfying crescendo. Overall, the album is constantly building upon itself, reaching bigger and better things.

Here's the bottom line: if you've never listened to jazz/metal fusion before, Exivious is a great place to start. However, if you don't like it, you most likely won't find anything to convince you otherwise. I found something I like in a place I never thought I would and I strongly encourage a listen.

In Short

Here's the bottom line: if you've never listened to jazz/metal fusion before, Exivious is a great place to start. However, if you don't like it, you most likely won't find anything to convince you otherwise. I found something I like in a place I never thought I would and I strongly encourage a listen.

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