Barriers & Passages

Dysrhythmia | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 2, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Relapse
• ASIN: B000EPF8RQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,721 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From the Artist

As seen on tour with MASTODON, ISIS, THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES, CLUTCH For Fans Of: SONIC YOUTH, DON CABALLERO, PELICAN, OXES, FUGAZI, VOIVOD

Product Description

DYSRHYTHMIA have established themselves as one of the finest instrumental bands in the world. Masters of their craft, DYSRHYTHMIA make the standard 'rock' (guitar, bass, drums) setup sound like a symphony and complex, innovative music sound easy. On its new record Barriers and Passages, the trio raises the bar once again with their exceptional playing and unwavering dedication to forward-thinking song craft. Time signatures bend and shift intuitively. Rich washes of melody and layers of noise are the voices that punctuate crisp musical constructions. Engineered by Martin Bisi (SONIC YOUTH, DRESDEN DOLLS, SWANS, HELMET, BRIAN ENO), Barriers and Passages is DYSRHYTHMIA's tour de force.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Huge!!!!!!, May 9, 2006

By 

Ghislain Rompre - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Barriers & Passages (Audio CD)

OK, Definitely a winner!!! I can't believe I am the first one to comment on this CD. Yet again, it's just been released. I pre-ordered the CD, and just received it by mail. I was blown away in the first listen. The raw power... constant time-changes... extreme dymanic... excellent production... You will need more then one listen to fully grab the content. It is very complex, yet so enjoyable in every listen. They kind of sound like Don Caballero, but with more tempo changes, and definitely a very different mood. They are like nothing I ever heard, and I have my share of weird stuff in my CD collection!!!

You can tell those musicians are really having a blast playing the music. They are tremendous players, and extremely talented! The music is technical, very tight, constantly on the move, very spontaneous, and quite varied. The guys develop sometimes in fantastic climax, which are welcomed smoother moments. The bass lines are tremendous, drums are varied in rythms and sometimes very fast and aggressive, guitars are simply all over the place, with sounds varying from heavy riffs to more subtil arpeggios; synchro between the 3 musicians is the strength of the band. The music, again, is weird, all instrumental and very experimental. After few listens, colors start to appear, and the music shows a lot of variety, structures, mood; showing a very good production and high sense of musicianship.

Highly recommended. For fans of Don Caballero, Canvas Solaris, or any technical metal, making the bridge between metal and prog, but with a strong sense of edge into it. This is energy music that really pushes the boundaries of instrumental heavy-prog-experimental and even avant-guarde explorations.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Ally to Prog Comprehension, July 22, 2006

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Barriers & Passages (Audio CD)

Prog rock is usually too much prog and not enough rock, but Dysrhythmia bring some serious metallic intensity to their musicianly prog vision. This all-instrumental combo can truly construct believable instrumental tracks that stand on their own, with no need for words cluttering up the expertly constructed sonic architecture. Drummer Jeff Eber is adept at very tricky prog rock timing patterns but still rocks out boomingly, bassist Colin Marston adds harmony and power almost like a rhythm guitarist, and Kevin Hufnagel on guitar delivers a full range of precision metal riffs and noisy avant-garde anti-riffs. The ultimate Dysrhythmia prog-metal chops can best be heard in piledriving tracks like "An Ally to Comprehension" and "Bus: Terminal," which slowly beat the listener into submission with layer upon layer of sonic power. Also get a load of the imposing wall of sound in "Sleep Decayer," while the album's true centerpiece is the pummeling epic "Seal/Breaker/Void," which manages to sound both ominous and elegant. The only problem track here is "Luminous," which is merely an exercise in atmosphere that goes nowhere musically. But in essence, Dysrhythmia have combined the best sounds from instrumental rock, egghead prog, and technical metal into an impressive sound that might just be a breakthrough. [~doomsdayer520~]

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dissonent Figures, September 29, 2006

By 

Blank Frank "Blank" (Athens, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barriers & Passages (Audio CD)

I discovered this disc after I found out that one of Dysrythmia's members also plays with Behold...The Arctopus. While its not as intense as the latter, it still makes for pretty exiting listening. If you discover this disc the way I did, I think you'll find that the sound is alittle more open than The Arctopus. Dysrythmia's guitarist tends to play dissonent figures more often than riffs. This allows more space for the Warr guitarist's performance in the mix.