Last Chance To Reason

Last Chance to Reason's newest album, Level 3, is a perfect example of how heavy metal inspires some of the most evolutionary music to date, with bands continually pushing the boundaries of what can be sonically achieved with an instrument. The composition of the album is incredible, as Last Chance to Reason navigate from beautiful musical passages to outbursts of polyrhythms and ever-changing time signatures. Yet despite the advanced level of music theory and technique applied to the creation of this album, the record stays surprisingly fresh and intriguing — there isn't a single song that follows your traditional verse/chorus/verse structure. While there is a considerable amount of melody to be found, it's the various interwoven layers of instrumentals that intrigue. The accents, sound effects and odd-timed riffs and beats are what create the remarkable tone of the album, while the vocals are a tremendous asset to Level 3's overall sound as well. In many ways, the vocals pull the record together, acting as an anchor and preventing the dominant technical instrumental work from being the primary focus. Level 3 is a piece of sonic art that's definitely worth having in your collection.