I hadn’t ever heard of Near Grey, the Montreal based post metal band, until I opened up the assignment this morning and dove right in. I was a little weary when the first song I heard kicked in. To be honest, the deep, slow chug of the guitar was doing nothing for me. But as I continued to listen to “Sauropod,” I found myself becoming entranced; the siren like wail of the song taking me away. Near Grey is an instrumental metal band, so you don’t get any of the basic distractions while listening as you would with other prog-metal music group types.
“North Field” is the type of song you listen to when you want to unwind after a hard day; melodic and beautiful, you could actually put some ear buds in and take a rest. On the opposite end of that is “Cannulated,” which I would throw on my playlist and take with me to the gym. The final song I had the pleasure of listening to was “Regina,” and it became a fast favorite. It starts and ends the same, with the raw emotion that can be expressed only through sound. It reminded me of a song off one of the later Deftones albums; something both eerily beautiful and riveting.
The four tracks I received appear on the 2013 release The Herschel Central Peak. Near Grey is a perfect example of a band that blends genres very tastefully. If you’re looking for music that will linger in your ears long after listening, I would give these guys a try. Both haunting and alive, the music of Near Grey gets 8 out of 10 from this gal.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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