American celestial thrashers Vektor really impressed me with their third full length "Terminal Redux" last year. Dense, tight, technical Thrash Metal with a fulfilling sense theme left a lasting impression. Turning the clocks back five years to their sophomore release its as if a day never passed between the two. "Outer Isolation" is another hair bending feet of intricate guitar thrashing glossed in its tonal aesthetic and dazzled with the emergence of timely melodies in between the rhythm guitar onslaught.
The band members are clearly exceptionally talented. Flashy guitar solos loaded with sweep picking, tapping and hammering are an obvious display but even the rhythm guitar makes its mark with lightning paced riffs, blistering tremolo picking and plenty of finger tangling shifts and shuffles turning straightforward sections into a constant delight of perplexity. For all its intense dexterity they make every riff count, not a dull moment or over extended idea here, they write fantastic music.
Behind the roaring guitars the drummer holds down a tight tempo, unfortunately a lot of his creativity is out shun by the dizzying guitars. The same could be said of the bass guitar which has a few moments to peak its head out from beneath, its quite audible with a bright tone but generally does a lot of mirroring. The vocals here are far more tolerable, probably because I am now accustom to them. David DiSanto has a shrill, high pitched scream with a texture I'm not to fond of. I would prefer a different voice but one can still appreciate what he bring to their sound.
The song structure and progression here is as impressive as the whirling array of notes flying your way. Every track unfolds with a continual sense of direction and adventure, they could go anywhere and as you get to know the songs all the pieces fall into place. "Outer Isolation" is a shade better than its successor with impressive melodic sections, a wild ride of ever shifting metallic onslaught and mesmerizing guitar work. Its not quite my cup of tea though, the vocals and tonal aesthetic not quite to my taste but I can certainly appreciate how someone might see this record as a Thrash masterpiece.
Rating: 8/10