Why We’re Excited for Acolyte’s Debut Album ‘Shades of Black’

Prog rock lovers listen up! Melbourne quintet Acolyte are about to release their debut album ‘Shades of Black’, and if their three singles are anything to go by it’s gonna be a banger!

The band have been toiling hard for nearly two years, and in preparation of the release of their debut album they’ve enlisted keyboardist Dave Van Pelt. While the keyboard isn’t prominent in their singles, it’s definitely noticeable and adds a refined layer to Acolyte’s sound.

A meaty smack of guitars opens the lead single Perceptions, followed by the addition groovy drum beat. We feel a hint of industrial metal in this one, while Morgan-Leigh Brown’s clean vocals give it a level of soft emotion. It’s a balance between emotive rock and metal that only a truly talented prog rock band can pull off.

Second single The Message steers more to the metal side of prog rock, showing Acolyte definitely aren’t a one trick pony. The track starts with a soft metal breakdown that leads into classic metal licks and intricate instrumental layers. The distorted guitar tones sound like they’ve plugged into one of Karnivool’s amps and for this track, and it really works!

Their latest single Space and Time is the “proggiest” of their singles, a ballad with atmospheric guitar motifs that build and layer themselves into an passionate guitar solo. Brown delivers a melody that, with her breathy haunting tone, leaves your spine tingling as the track fades out to just her whispers.

Brown says the album’s release “is the biggest event of the band’s lives…we have put tireless hours of blood, sweat and tears (literally) into making this a possibility”.

Acolyte’s debut album ‘Shades of Black’ is set for release Friday, 5th of August.