Album Review: Acolyte ‘Shades of Black’

Prog 5-piece Acolyte teased listeners with three singles earlier this year. They’ve now finally giving listeners what they’ve been waiting for with the release their debut album ‘Shades of Black’! The album is distinctly prog, but not exclusively. It takes elements from alternative metal and ambient rock to create a unique, hybridised sound that will keep you on your toes the whole way through.

The Melbourne outfit have been working hard on their debut album since late 2014, saying they wanted to bring a different sound to the prog and rock scene in Australia. “We have always stayed true to our individual influences, which has definitely helped us create our very own sound and style,” said vocalist Morgan-Leigh Brown.

The album keeps a good sense of structure from start to finish, with what feels like an introduction, a middle and an ending. In this sense, it feels more like a listening experience than just an album – think the same idea as Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’, where you listen to the album in order and it tells a musical story.

The album opens with Monolith, a soft, almost ambient piece of prog that perfectly introduces its following tracks. Softly building guitar layers and resonating vocal sounds from Brown give this song an almost ethereal feel. Short but sweet, the way the motif slows down at the end and draws to a close sets the mood for the rest of the album and leaves you looking forward to it.

“Every instrument feels intuitive to the others, ebbing and flowing with one another, while Brown’s strong, earthy voice brings it all together.”

A heavy, distorted guitar riff leads straight into the next song, Perceptions. This was the debut single off of ‘Shades of Black’, and it’s easy to see why when listening to it. Every instrument experiments with itself, keeping the song constantly interesting. Cool industrial parts dip in and out to give it a heavy, alternative feel.

Brown almost reminds us of Twelve Foot Ninja in this song with her clean, commanding vocals (and yes, that can only be a good thing!). She fits herself perfectly into the instrumentation going on around her, yet she still stands out every time she opens her mouth.

The Message starts with eerie background noises that build into soft guitars. Don’t expect the song to stay this toned down for long though as heavy, distorted, in-your-face guitars soon take over, pulling and pushing the song through interesting section changes. Everything has been turned up a notch to make this one of the heavier songs on the album, and it sounds awesome!

Chakra brings the song back to a moodier tone, as it starts with a bass and guitar tone reminiscent of Tool. It’s somewhat suspenseful at the start, and offers up a faster tempo than previous songs. This piece strikes the perfect balance of being soft and emotive, but somehow still fast and heavy. Sections build and drop as drums, bass, guitars and vocals all take turns being centre stage. The whole piece climbs up for almost six minutes before it stops you dead in your tracks with a quick and clean ending.

In This Life gives the listener the Acolyte they’ve now come to expect, and hopefully love. Starting with a proggy bass idea, soft but strong vocals make their way into the piece early on. This song gives a more thoughtful side of the band with a slower tempo and lots of riff changes, unlike a lot of their other songs which experiment with more singular ideas.

Everything is perfectly in tune with everything else, and a catchy ascending guitar tune brings the song to a peak before dropping back into gentle bass and guitar tunes and calm vocal parts. In terms of the album, this song could be like the climax, the end of a thunderstorm.

The album wraps up with prog ballad Space and Time, which starts with a really pretty riff. Atmospheric guitar motifs layer themselves and build into a mild, but certain, highpoint. Brown doesn’t wanna let you forget her voice so quickly, and her melodies and crystal tone fade into whispers, bringing the album to a haunting and beautiful finish.

This group knows how to make a song and an album interesting. What makes these pieces enjoyable to listen to is the fact a song might carry a similar idea throughout its entirety, but the way the drum beat and dominant instruments change keeps the idea captivating, that’s not always an easy thing to pull off! Every instrument feels intuitive to the others, ebbing and flowing with one another, while Brown’s strong, earthy voice brings it all together.

Acolyte’s sound on this album probably isn’t for everyone, and may bore those who prefer heavier prog rock. For the rest of us, this album is definitely worth a listen (or 10!).