ALBUM REVIEW: Fleshy Waves Of Probability – Calyces
Hailing from Athens, Greece, CALYCES first made a name for themselves with their debut album, Impulse To Soar, in 2020. Band leader Manthos Stergiou began the project following the demise of extreme metal act TARDIVE DYSKINESIA, shifting much closer to prog metal while retaining the heaviness. Their second album, Fleshy Waves Of Probability, escalates every aspect – speed, intensity, heaviness and hooks – in a blistering assault of progressive sludge.
The beginnings of sludge are often attributed to hardcore bands slowing their song tempos, retaining the aggression whilst injecting more heaviness through a slower pace, though there’s very little that could be described as slow on Fleshy Waves Of Probability. An impatient cycling riff and pick scrape kicks off opener Swirling Towards The Light at a breakneck pace, all instruments not just playing at high speeds but filling out the sound with a continual assault of hits and notes. The guitar riffs trail off into lead fills at almost every opportunity. Between the riff-heavy onslaught and the dual vocal textures, there is a lot of MASTODON DNA present. A syncopated bridge riff hints at the progressive technical origins of the band; the closing moments show aggression in an intense breakdown riff and full-throated scream.
Another hallmark of many sludge bands is heavy doom influence – another trait that CALYCES sometimes subvert. The choruses across the album are often uplifting, fist-in-the-air affairs, no more so than on Boneshatter. Stergiou‘s vocals are in permanent belt mode over a more measured verse pace, with the chorus layering on the harmonised vocals into a bright major chord resolution. There’s a keen ear for melody, particularly in the comparatively languid classic rock guitar solo.
CALYCES reunites Stergiou on this album with longtime collaborator Stavros Rigos on drums. His contributions set the bar high for the album – forcing both the pace and the intricate polyrhythmic detail. Wastelands is another full-throttle affair, not just at high tempo but with no opportunity to squeeze in an extra note or drum hit left untaken. Later in the album, Forked Tongue hits like a runaway car speeding out of control. Its pedal riff guitar stabs dial in at maximum intensity and volume. Its chorus showcases another side of the band – harmonically unhinged, evoking tension and panic.
A brief island of respite presents on Lost In Phrase. The opening almost threatens a calm, ballad-like feel with patient, clean guitar, before a plodding riff tips the drums into crash cymbal mode. The verses are a little more sedate – cleaner vocal textures and a slower tempo only disrupted by the impatience of the drums injecting fills wherever they can. Its chugging bass and major key tonality evoke a 90s alt-rock feel – reinforced by the high drama of a string section driving the chorus melody. Later, lead single Flowing Through Storm also dials back the pace, leveraging quiet/loud dynamics in its verses in a flair for the dramatic before a vast singalong chorus.
Closing track Lethargy, true to its name, begins much calmer, drawing in the listener with a looping clean guitar and placid vocals. Over seven minutes, it shows the broadest range of the album. A contrabass solo augments its slower sections; heavy escalations spike the tempo for maximum dynamic contrast. It reaches its catharsis with an extended duelling guitar solo break, one of many BARONESS-inspired moments on the album. At its conclusion, it spills into an 80s-esque guitar tapping and tom-fill pattern, before lurching into a heavy breakdown riff that is impossible not to headbang along to. It’s a rich and fulfilling closer, the best technical work of the album.
Across eight tracks and under 40 minutes, Fleshy Waves Of Probability does not outstay its welcome. If you can keep up with its relentless pace, there’s a great deal to enjoy in its maximum velocity drums, runaway guitars and epic chorus structures. The influence of both MASTODON and BARONESS lies heavily on the album’s sound and, at times, threatens to rob the record of its own identity, such are the similarities. But this doesn’t stop the album from being a rollercoaster of impatience, heaviness and excitement.
Rating: 8/10
Fleshy Waves of Probability is set for release on March 21st via self-release.
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