Music, Print, Reviews April 19, 2015

Album Review: Sequential—The Panoramic

by BandWagon Magazine

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Sequential is the brutal, five track EP released in December 2014 by progressive metalcore band The Panoramic. The band is comprised of four extremely talented musicians from around Colorado, with half of the band being Greeley residents, although they claim to be based out of Fort Collins. To keep things interesting, the band also draws from a multitude of different influences ranging from world music to spoken word.

Sequential begins with a heavy track entitled “Seminole” which is the perfect opener. The song begins with tribal percussion, jaw harp, and an ominous bass line; which is somewhat reminiscent of the album Lateralus by Tool. The track builds and the anticipation grows until all of a sudden, frontman Stefan Lopez’s gut-wrenching vocals hit you like a freight train carrying a circus of hungry bears.

The following track, “Go Now Son” is heavy right off the bat, but catches you off guard with the nice contrast of clean guitar tones and trumpet, creating a lush and beautiful texture. As the EP progresses, there are other musical nuances that make it apparent that these guys put a lot of work into it and that they really care about their craft.

Listening through Sequential, you can tell that these guys are not only conscious of musicality but they are technically skilled as well. With shredding guitar licks, tasty bass lines, solid drumming, brutal vocals, and good songwriting they are able to bring it together in a happy medium between technicality and musicality that calls to mind bands like Between the Buried and Me, Veil of Maya, and even Born of Osiris.

The level of production, detail, and passion that went into Sequential makes it a stand-out EP and will keep you interested from start to finish. These dudes put “progressive” in “progressive metal” and are definitely a band to keep an eye on.

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