TRANSIT METHOD
TRANSIT METHOD “Othervoid”
By Dr. Abner Mality
TRANSIT METHOD have themselves one hell of a cool and creepy album cover here! This is the sort of artwork that grabs your imagination and draws you in. Although the art could work for just about any death metal band, TRANSIT METHOD are definitely more of a progressive metal outfit. And a pretty good one, at that.
There are lots of influences at work here, too many to list, but the overall flavor is metallic and surprisingly upbeat. “Into Your Mind” and “Psychometry” are peppy and playful sounding despite their heaviness. The former is a compact bit of fast and happy prog metal somewhat reminiscent of RUSH’s “Permanent Waves” era, while the latter has a kind of jazzy DREAM THEATER bounce. Those are two names you expect to see in any prog metal review, but TRANSIT METHOD also show a kind of pop-punk flourish to the vocal lines on “Psychometry” while there’s a kind of chugging thrash feel to “Another Wasted Life”. Vocals in general are clean and melodic, sometimes engaging in multi-tracked chorus lines as on “The Outside” and “Savage Creatures”. This last named song could pass for a BLUE OYSTER CULT track with its sad, pop-tinged vibe that builds to a strong climax.
Although non-metal touches enhance the music, never doubt that TRANSIT METHOD is a metal band. Every track has crunch and riff to it, none more so than the epic final cut “Frostbite”, where IRON MAIDEN, DREAM THEATER and even modern prog like MARS VOLTA is invoked. Lots of smooth soloing in every track and some very tasty bass-drum interplay. I don’t know if this is a concept album, but the band sure seem to be sci-fi fans
Something for prog metal fans to keep a look out for…