Customer Reviews

With the Sureness of Sleepwalking

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

upon reading MOST of the idiotic reviews about this band it makes me think that no one knows anything about this band

especially the f**kface that compared them to Unearth and Atreyu

i mean cmon now be real here there are no unearth or atryu influences in this album i will say that the production overall isnt that good but its good enough

this is how metalcore should sound(it has no whiny crying vocals about how there girlfriends betrayed them like most of the f**king trendcore bands out now)

the songs on this album remind me of the early metalcore sound

(the good metalcore)

(although everyone else that reviews this album would disagree since they have been either listening to hardcore/metal for a week or just think that they know everything About Everything)

First and foremost disregard the review below...it is poor and comparing The Esoteric to Unearth and Atreyu is just criminal! With that being said here is my two cents, put this towards the purchase ;). "With the Sureness of Sleepwalking" is the audio dirge to which your eardrums will be laid into graves. The songs tug, pull, and lure you into what will be an audio pummeling you truly deserve. They are technical, but the songs are written well and have great structure, yes that is correct a band that plays technical music that can write songs. Not a collection of clicks and whistles. The Guitar work in intricate, groovy, and will even briefly detach and become a spacey landscape. The rhythm section could pass for a demolition crew, as it destroys you with precision and sheer talent. The vocals are always venomous, glass breaking, and stone shattering screams. Nope no whining on this record..not even a little whining basically picture this..The Esoteric are a bomber, and "With the Sureness of Sleepwalking" is the audio equivalent of a Daisy Cutter. If you enjoy your heavy music with intelligence and creativity then pick this disc up and learn something.

I was afraid The Esoteric had over-estimated their audience - it's gotta be difficult to "head-bang" in 13/8, after all - but the incredible invention and sophistication of their music is making fans of metal-lovers who are starting to realize just how innane the crap they've been listening to is! Through relentless touring and hard work, The Esoteric is raising the bar when it comes to Metalcore while gaining new fans everyday - this album will challenge you and reveal new secrets with every listen. The addition of Marshall Kilpatrick on drums has made a big difference in the overall sound of the band (the drums on this recording sound GREAT!), but it's still the song-writing and intricately interwoven guitars that will blow you away. With The Sureness of Sleepwalking is the most creative thing I've heard in a long time. I wanted to give it 6 stars. This CD is a must-have.

May the self-righteous be ignorant forever. Comparing The Esoteric to The Dillinger Escape Plan, Botch, Poison the Well, Unearth or Atreyu is like comparing Sonny Clark to Miles Davis, John Coltrane or Bill Evans...Same family tree, but sounding nothing alike. Fans new to any genre usually start out with only a few references with which to compare other acts. Once anyone fully sinks their teeth into a specific area, the broad comparisons become more refined.

Anyone who has been following Metalcore for at least a few years has had ample time to discover Coalesce, one of the genre's biggest and most reputable names since the start. Quality control in the shape of ex-members from various bands doesn't always pan out, but in the case of this album, "With the Sureness of Sleepwalking," Cory White's influence helped turn this record into a fine gem. I'm not crediting White with all the work, though. The rest of the band has been at it for years, and are what I consider to be subject matter experts.

This record is flawless. It has staying power like so many other classics: Shai Hulud's "That Within Blood Ill Tempered," Himsa's "Courting Tragedy and Disaster," and Coalesce's "0-12: Revolution in Just Listening" to name a few (as a quality comparison, NOT music or sound). You could consider this to be a "minor" classic if it makes you feel better, but regardless, The Esoteric's "With the Sureness of Sleepwalking" deserves your respect.

I was extremely impressed by this CD. The tightness of this band is amazing. The guitar work and drumming is incredible. I have to admit that I'm not too impressed with the typical metal vocal performance, I prefer a vocalist to have the ability to sing as well as just scream, but I think the instrumental playing is great. Cory is a fantastic guitarist. I was knocked out when I heard it.

Review By Ray Harkins:

After years of obscurity and general mystery about this band, The Esoteric now unveil their debut full length on the unsuspecting heavy music scene. Lawrence, Kansas has definitely been a center of musical commotion over the past few years with bands like The Get Up Kids, Appleseed Cast, and Coalesce all making their name known with the help of a producer named Ed Rose. The Esoteric also being buddies with Mr. Rose, teamed up for what was looking to be one of the most devastating records released in the past few years as he was responsible for such mammoth recordings like Coalesce's Functioning On Impatience and Grade's Separate The Magnets.

For those familiar with their previous EP's, some may notice missing elements that really made The Esoteric stand apart from the rest of the pack. This record tends to focus on their technical aspect of the band and seem to leave the atmosphere and space in the foreground. Songs like "Ram-Faced Boy" that really have a forceful impact when elongated, just seem to lose its steam toward the end. The layout is superb, but some of the lyrics are a little difficult to read over the vibrant colors employed.

Although this release somewhat let this listener down, people that enjoy bands like Ion Dissonance, Today Is the Day, and Coalesce can surly appreciate this release through and through as this is heads above most of the other "technical" bands that are around today.

I've heard a lot of both negative and positive views on this band. Wasn't really sure what to think, so I decided to just take the risk and purchase it. I was quite surprised when i began listening. There is not anything extremely different or special about these guys compared to the other million metalcore acts out today... BUT for some reason, i really like them. I don't know what it is. If your looking for something totally out of the ordinary, then i recommend you skip this band and go buy something like Psyopus (which are also very good). Yet if your looking for catchy songs with decent guitar/drum work and good lyrics, I'd go and buy it.

A lot of harcore stuff is starting to sound the same and this album is a breath of fresh air. It is not genre defining or totally new but it is different enough to impress me as I have been getting pretty picky with music lately. A couple of the guys from this band are from COALESCE and REGGIE AND THE FULL EFFECT (check reggie out). Reggie has an indy electronic sound with hardcore influences, but they are very quirky and have a sense of humor. This quirkyness from the band members influences the Esoteric album and that is why I believe it sounds a little bit different from most bands of the same nature, but I like it. It was produced by good ol' ED ROSE at the Black Lodge recording studio in Eudora Kansas that is owned by Ed Rose and The Get Up Kids(My favorite band)so Reggie and TGUK and esoteric and coalesce are very close knit. But anyways check this out if you like good hardcore and are getting tired of the whole Taking Back Sunday/Underoath sound that is beggining to pollute the genre.

This band is a joke, and obviously knows nothing of extreme music; for if they did they'd know this band name was already taken. This band is unaware of Esoteric from the U.K.; who play an ominous brand of abstract Doom. Don't be fooled by these morons who are undeserving of the name from which they stole from a greater act. If you're a fan of this band, I wouldn't recommend checking out the real Esoteric. Lest you would be driven insane by sounds that emanate from the alternate shadowy plane of existence.

Take the math crunch attack of Dillinger Escape Plan's Calculating Infinity, add the driving dissonant experimentalism of Botch's We Are The Romans, a dash of Isis' doomy chord ringouts, and the dullest most commercial moments of Poison The Well. Add water until every aspect of what made those bands' material effective and compelling is lost, and you've got this album.