Rumors abound of Dutch progressive metal band Textures performing in India in the future. They made the cover of New Delhi’s Rock Street Journal September 2009 issue.
I am delighted by the buzz Textures has made in the Subcontinent. It is always nice to hear I share one more thing with a few desis in the motherland. I followed Textures from a distance since the beginning. I heard of their first album Polars through a review of the metal site Uranium Music. The mp3 sample of Swandive rocked my socks. It was like listening to Meshuggah’s Contradictions Collapse packed with much more melody.
Swandive by Textures from Polars(2004)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPFTLWGmV7c&w=425&h=344]
The lineup had changed by their next album Drawing Circles. With Eric Kalsbeek as the new vocalist, their sound took on a more hardcore character. If you ask a prog or technical metal purist, this would sound like a sacrilege, but If Shai Hulud can pull of an impeccable prog/hardcore sound, than Textures was more than welcome to do it. I however miss the Floydian grandeur of the song Polars.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgJQMPmmi5U&w=425&h=344]
Their latest album Silhouettes was released last year. The song Storm Warning is an example of how wide Textures can traverse musically. Awake, while sounding like a Devin Townsend derivative, has enough chops to keep me listening.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSYNhfkNGco&w=425&h=344]
Here’s hoping Textures gets a grand welcome in the motherland.