Corridors gets the thumbs-up from Metal Manic

Joel Blauvelt recently gave As Of Today’s debut album a listen and had the following to say:

Lurking from the depths of London, U.K., As of Today hope to step up with their debut Corridors and they do little to disappoint. You’ll first pick up on long untraditional guitar riffs that try to sound pretty but are are as ugly and grimey as Metal can get. The vast intricacy and incorporation of influences is absolutely baffling (listen deeply). You’ll hear it all from Porcupine Tree/Pink Floyd/Opeth/Tool to Agalloch, Burst, In Mourning, The Ocean, Intronaut, The Prophecy, Threat Signal, Long Distance Calling and even Anathema. Whether all of these are direct inspirations to the band or not, it is a fine example of how influences can either actively and/or passively effect a final product. Picture all of the heavy parts of Porcupine Tree’s Fear of a Blank Planet with gruff/roaring Centurions Ghost like vocals and you’ll get an overall sense of what we’ve got here.

At first the vocals do not appear particularly strong however upon repeat/closer listens nothing could be further from the truth. True, they do sound a bit monotonous at times but are saved by some excellent placement harmonizing/complementary roars that take control and convert themselves into a reassuring presence. The fact that the vocal to instrumental ratio is approx 1:3 gives bonus points towards the albums lasting power in the sense that they are not too overwhelming. Self produced Corridors shows that the band knows what they are doing. Although there is far better production (and certainly far worse [my audio copy being 148 kbps VBR may have something to do with that]), I wouldn’t have it any other way; be it presentation of the raw thrashing drumming, complacent appearance of piano/keys, acoustics/light interludes, wicked solos, or the ambient filling effects contributing to the overall atmosphere, everything is pretty much solid.

On the other hand, my major gripe with the album is that, although running at 32:33 in length, it feels a bit short. Then again, the saying “too much of a good thing is bad thing” could apply. Regardless, having listened to Corridors many times, as well as mixing it up with other bands, my enjoyment of the album has failed to waiver. Corridors is a fantastic debut sharing a glimse of a band with a promising future. Although fans who adhere to their particular ’style’ of Metal/music will likely stick to their guns, As of Today seem to certainly have what it takes to be appealing to a broader, genre-bridging fan base. With plenty of room to grow, it will be exciting to see what these guys pull out of their hats in the years to come.

You can see the review yourself over at MetalManic.

Corridors gets 8/10 on UKMU

Gary Davidson from ukmetalunderground.com had the following to say about Corridors:

The disruption caused by band members coming and going can be never ending. Thankfully As of Today have managed to find a settled line up which has no doubt helped them hit their stride. Corridors is an album that has been waiting to happen for five long years. The album certainly hasn’t suffered from this time delay as fresh sounding slabs of guitar flood out of the speakers waiting to jump on anyone that comes near. What makes this record even more astounding is that the band self produced it.

Progressive metal can come in many forms and for a genre it’s a rather ineffective title. As of Today play a blend of metal, hardcore and post-rock, and there are not many bands that have put those three together very successfully. However As of Today succeed where many fail by moulding their influences (Opeth, Pink Floyd and ISIS) subtlety and smoothly. The superbly titled “The Dwarf and The Whore” opens the album in vicious style. Sweeping guitar is met head on with thrashing drums, rumbling bass and demented vocals. As heavy and as fast as the song started there’s a beautiful lull in the middle that allows the band to build back up slowly to a storming finish and gives the listener a taste of what this album has in store for them.

As mentioned before the band recorded and produced this album themselves and there are no moments in it where it seems like they never knew what they were doing. I have heard far worse coming from the hands of professional producers.  Further, by producing the album themselves the band have shown how strong their song writing and self editing skills are. The band never loses their focus on the album and the music created never wanders into the self indulgent. For a debut album it really is quite remarkable.

Most of the songs run over the five minute mark but As of Today use the time to develop their ideas. The attraction of this band is that they are not scared to turn a full force progressive metal song into a spiralling post rock finish.  “Sterile Hands, Septic Waters” is another fine example of this; as at the thunderous beginning it’s hard to imagine that a solo piano will close the song.  The respite this piano section brings runs through the next song and builds up for “A Day In Transgression” to once again create a barrage of progressive guitar work and brutal vocals before flowing away into a more relaxing section of plucked guitar in the start of “Nil By Mouth”.

As of Today show that it is possible to go down the DIY route and produce a stunning record. Words could describe the superb interplay between the instruments, the stunning depths of the growling vocals, the hammering guitar, the crisp production and the brilliant songs, but for only £4 it would be more rewarding to let your own ears do the work.

You can read the whole review over at UKMetalUnderground.com