The Apparatus

Heathen Agenda
Dream Catcher Records

8/10: Probably the biggest surprise of the year. Eclectic and heavy!

9 Tracks, 46:06

The Apparatus is a new band that has immediately gotten off to a profound start. Hailing from Trondheim, Norway, this six-piece (vocalist Vegard Harkjerr, guitarists Oystein Iverson and Ketil Saether, bassist Sondre Oien, keyboardist Per Spjotvold, and drummer Kim Saetre) draws from a slew of influences ranging from doom, to death metal, to the obligatory Scandinavian black metal chops. Once you've spun Heathen Agenda, one can only be pleasantly surprised at the talent shown here.

The album gets you acclimated immediately with Otherplace. Once you've managed to wade through the first riff orgy, you from then on have a pretty clear idea of what's to be thrown your way for the rest of the journey. Highly proficient with every note, they bring to mind heavy occasional nods to Meshuggah, but seemingly staying within themselves and not taking the "math-metal" idea to the unlistenable point. And Harkjerr is well on his way to being a new favorite black metal vocalist for many.

Having done so well on their debut, the pressure is on for them to keep the standard that they started with. It won't be an easy task, but with the talent possessed, you would think that this is the beginning of something very special.

Chris Burnham