Album/EP

STRUCTURES - None of the Above (EP Review)

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

/10

Jul 8, 2021

7 min read

STRUCTURES – None of the Above EPReleased: July 9^th 2021

Line up:

Brendon Padjasek // vocals & lead guitar
Spyros Georgiou // rhythm guitar
Andrew McEnaney // drums

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Over 10 years ago, the almighty Canadian djent Gods STRUCTURES released their first EP All of the Above which arguably introduced the world to this new wave of heavy djent-core, that would evolve to deliver albums such as Divided By which truly stood them out from the rest of the pack. The band announced their disbandment or extended hiatus several years ago, until returning very recently with surprise new song 'Planet of Garbage' and announced their brand new EP None of the Above , a celebration of their debut EP. I cannot emphasise enough how highly anticipated this EP is, given how long it's been since a release of any kind.

Revisiting 'Planet of Garbage' again as an opening track to the six-track EP is enjoyable as the newly familiar sound takes on a reminding onboarding experience for what the next chapter of STRUCTURES is going to look and feel like. The track bends and curves with depth and different textures plus various crescendos that blissfully ensue both instrumentally and vocally. The short track violently stops in the lead-up to track two.

'6' has guitars tuned all the way down, like right down and the band spins into a rhythmic groove immediately. The verses are crunchy and has a Rage Against the Machine vocal style at times with some rap-style moments. The song captures all of the delightful elements of STRUCTURES that we've sorely missed over the years. It's got that ongoing chaos where you don't have a second to catch your breath, whilst also the virtuosic component that is the underbelly of this band - and we're only a third-way through this belter of an EP; buckle up.

It gets even groovier with 'Gone / Dead' which channels modern melodic hardcore components with raspy vocals, but also nu-metalcore instrumental elements too - somewhat of a new and experimental side to STRUCTURES which is welcoming to hear. The song spans for less than two minutes so immerse yourself in it because if you blink you may miss it in all its glory.

'Civilian' really encapsulates this hardcore edge of the band, while blending some of those rooted djent-sounds that the band are grounded by. The track builds in a similar way to 'Planet of Garbage' but introduces some synth moments to kind of split the song up into different phases. The breakdown carriages span around a minute, and the lead-up will have you melting with catharsis. This number really gets you to close your eyes, and nod your head to the blissful and ever-so-talented noise that we've been gifted.

We're on the back-end of this rollercoaster EP with 'Psycho Hours' where the guitars slow right down, and the vocals step it back up in a Northlane Singularity era-type-way. Slow but powerful retching vocals against a powerful prog-rhythm. The band tear into the song as it shatters into chaos with subtle mathcore elements brought in, as they swing things back on track.

And just like that, we're already on the final track of this long-awaited EP. 'Fortune Fades' takes on all of the elements we've heard already on this release, and fuses it all together. You've got the slow emotive vocals, mixed with immersive rap-verse sections, rhythmic organisation plus the seemingly random however obviously carefully orchestrated riff-chaos. The last track spans less than two and a half minutes but it captures all of the band's best elements in this short time. The breakdown at the end has everyone give it their all as they synchronise hellish perfection that'll make you spin this EP again straight away.