By: Johell

Posted: Jul 24, 2005

"The Moment" is Vancouver's debut album which was released in 2004. The band hails from Switzerland and features both the guitarist and the drummer of Unfold, the singer of Impure Wilhelmina, and Iscariote's bass player.

Vancouver, which should not only be a side project, plays angry sludgecore in the vein of Knut, Neurosis and Cult of Luna. The album is filled with substance, with many good moments and plenty of ideas, this album will take the listener to many different levels. Some spinnings will be needed to extract every doomy, stonerian and furious feeling that are on the album, but once you'll get it... you'll love it.

"The Moment" opens with 'Maraschino', the guitars are in front, the drums are very present. The bass line is bumping, a dynamic and cool line. The voice is angry and gives a lot to the whole atmosphere on this track. The "false" calmness in the middle of the song is strange and emotional and then crushed by heaviness.

Over to 'The Ninth Hour' and its raw sound. The vocal is tough. It's more a scream than a growl. The wall of guitars is huge and comes out with interesting melodies, the bassline is dynamic and powerful, and the drums are rough. The ending of the track slides into an ambient mood and then continues to 'Damocles' a slow, atmospheric and instrumental track, just to gasp some air.

'Apollo' progresses from a beginning with some clean guitar into something real heavy and captivating. The vocal becomes almost insane. The bass is huge, the drumming deep and powerful. Some plaintive vocals appears in the middle of the track to spread a strange atmosphere, there soon is to be eaten by an explosion of agression.

A great instrumental track is revelead on 'Exosphere' which invites a mysterious cello to a combination of artistic styles.

The stream on 'A Valid Gait' seems desperate and progressive, still very heavy, tortured vocals give even more strenght and the end of the track dives into ambient sounds and flows to the beautifully painted instrumental 'Altamon'.

There is a spiral feeling on the heavy and progressive 'The Detachment', the whole sound is thick, the voice expressive, the guitars seems to float on a poisonous bass, while the drums combinate many different swings.

"The Moment" closes with the great 'The Portrait'. The only track with clean vocals, the melody here is sad and melancholic, and fits the ending, of this really interesting album, well.

If you check out Vancouver's record label's website (Division Records), you'll see that Vancouver has recorded the whole album in only one take!!! That is impressve!

Rating: 8/10

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