The Contortionist

On their 2010 debut album, Exoplanet, Indiana-based progressive metallers the Contortionist combined intricate melodies with crushing breakdowns. Now, with their follow-up album, Intrinsic, the band take their style to the next level with even more complex guitar work. Opener "Holomovement" features Jonathan Carpenter's spacy, clean vocals, as well as beautiful tones that swiftly change to dark, ultra-heavy riffage with unorthodox time signatures. "Feedback Loop" starts off strong and aggressive, with Carpenter switching up his vocals to devastating growls, which again transition to a crescendo of experimental sounds and melodic singing. The remaining tracks on Intrinsic utilize this type of formula, but it's taken to new heights with album highlight "Geocentric Confusion," which is both punishing and graceful. Completely unpredictable at all times, Intrinsic is a mesmerizing and dreamy album. The Contortionist have mastered the perfect balance of deathcore and prog, with just enough weird atmospheric noise to put them ahead of the pack.