Cortical Tectonics

Canvas Solaris | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sensory Records
• ASIN: B000PKG626
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #362,495 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The growth continues... instrumental magic!, June 10, 2007

By 

Murat Batmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cortical Tectonics (Audio CD)

Canvas Solaris' previous album Penumbra Diffuse was such a stylistic transition from their extreme technical metal roots to a more atmospheric, keyboard-heavy style that many of their fans were utterly surprised. Without abandoning their calculated compositions infused with thunderous rhythm syncopation and driving lead solos, they adopted well written synth patches and acoustic passages for good measure.

Their new CD Cortical Tectonics now achieves the perfect balance between the band's earlier heavy stylings and their new-found progressive experiment. The six tracks on the CD are carefully divided into two parts, with the first two songs, "Berserker Hypothesis" and "Sinusoid Mirage", being the ruthless heavy pieces, dominated by Nathan Sapp and Ben Simpkins' heavy-duty guitar riffs and Hunter Ginn's rolling drum work. The guitarists fire off shred-intensive electric riffs with machine-like precision, underscoring the odd-metered drumming. The first track does boast a little acoustic passage defined by a very creepy tone, but other than that it is quite heavy. "Sinusoid Mirage", on the other, starts out slowly, borrowing some cool shaker sounds by guest musician Matt Johnson, and highlights the glistening cymbal work and yet another storm of doomsday riffs.

The band's brooding atmospheric side comes through on "Interface", which also sees a great clean acoustic part by Brian Simpkins, who is normally responsible for the bass and rhythm guitars in the band. Sapp injects an elaborate synth patch into the song lending it a great melody, and the bass motif that rumbles atop is amazing. Ginn concludes the song with his trademark glockenspiel, but his diverse rhythm work isn't as profound on Cortical Tectonics as it was on Penumbra Diffuse. This certainly has to do with the album being more guitar-influenced, thus leaving him less space to demonstrate his ethnic drumming. That said, on the 17-minute "Reticular Consciousness", the band's longest song to date, every aspect of their previous work is emphasized. Ginn gets to lay down a killer tribal solo employing lots of conga and Moroccan Clay drumming, whilst Sapp exacts myriad synth tones through the song's course. He even uses the weird Tangerine Dream-like patch somewhere in the end, which greatly adds to the diversity of the composition.

"Gamma Knife" emphasizes intricate rhythms and arrangements, exuding double-tracked atonal licks and rapid-fire riffery. At one point, the riffing becomes so intense and bent that it is wrenched into a nasty breakdown, which creates a dense, suffocating attack. "Rhizome", on the other hand, is the band's study in the light/dark contrast a la King Crimson and Mr Bungle. It starts out very mellow, bringing forth eerie acoustic guitars, but they quickly morph into hammering electric leads that collapse in on themselves.

The packaging of the album is almost identical to Penumbra Diffuse, with a carboard pack with the credits and liner notes written inside. As with its predecessor, the production and mixing is great, rendered with a strange immediacy to it. The trio in Canvas Solaris still continue to churn out uncompromising compositions and defy traditional musical standards. This album is yet another excellent addition to their body of work, but to me, Penumbra Diffuse is still their most accomplished album.

Along with Planet X's Quantum, Cortical Tectonics is 2007's most essential instrumental album.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Technical Metal at its Most Onomatopoeic, May 9, 2009

By 

Brian Rooney (Littleton, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cortical Tectonics (Audio CD)

Not much to add to the other reviews here.

If you like tech-metal, buy this disc and all of their others. If you don't know what tech-metal is, believe in the fate that brought you this far and just buy this disc and all of their others.

It sounds like solar flares to me, arcing through a thousand degree corona surrounding a hydrogen furnace hot enough to fuel everything within millions of miles, tracing lines through the void. That's what it sounds like to me. Onomatopoeia.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great instrumental, February 16, 2009

By 

D. Joy "phillymetallicafan" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cortical Tectonics (Audio CD)

I've listened to all of Canvas Solaris' stuff over the last couple of years and all are great, this one included. If you like instrumental music that is above average this and/or the other Canvas Solaris CDs should be in your collection.