Singles + EPs

EP Review: The Arusha Accord

[EP: Nightmares of the Ocean]
[Label: Basick Records]

The Arusha Accords, so Wikipedia tells me, were a set of five rules signed in Tanzania to help end the Rwandan Civil War in July 1993. Just about 15 years later, you can assume a band using that as the basis for their name are reasonably well read. You can also usually assume that a well-read band will either produce intelligent, complex and dynamic music, or they’ll be pretentious oiks with ideas far above their station. Well, thank whatever sky-dwelling beastie you worship, because The Arusha Accord definitely do the former.

So then, a six-piece, dual-vocal, incredibly technical spazz-esque progressive metal band from Reading… remind you of anyone? From the instant the CD starts, there’s a huge whiff of Sikth permeating from the speakers. It’s hard to see that as a downfall in this case though – any band that can sound even remotely like Sikth has clearly been paying attention in their music lessons. To be fair to them, there are a few bands around that do this kind of thing musically, it just happens that the vocalists in The Arusha Accord sound really similar to Mikee Goodman from Sikth when they’re screaming. It’s both a blessing and a curse; if you sounded like Chris Cornell, yeah you’d have an awesome voice, but you’d constantly get compared to him.

Trying to put aside the obvious comparisons is easier said than done when it starts off with a section that sounds so reminiscent of Sikth’s first album you have to double check what CD you put on. However, halfway through the opening track ‘The New Face of Revenge’ things start to change and new territory is explored as The Arusha Accord’s own voice start to shine through. There’s a quiet, jazzy section, followed by an almost post-hardcore sung section (albeit in a scatty time signature that’ll make your head spin), which is intertwined with a tapped guitar duel, with a few spazzy metal ticks thrown in just to really keep you on your toes. ‘Death of Thieves’ offers up even more new flavours; a Faith No More style almost-chorus; a bridge far more epic than should really be offered up by this type of band; then a calm, delay-soaked quiet passage before turning the metal back up for the last 30 seconds.

It’s the title track where they really show off though, and do the almost impossible feat of playing a Tool-like intro section twice as fast as they really should whilst seemingly never playing the same thing twice. My fretting fingers start cramping up just listening to it. The middle section is as deep and hypnotic as Earthtone9 were at their best.

What you get from this CD is just over 15 minutes (20 if you include the demo tacked onto the end) of very, very technically adept metal where the normal rules of structure don’t apply and time signatures are liquid. They take the anything-but-basic template offered up by Dilinger Escape Plan and Sikth, and expand on it in some very interesting ways. By taking the time to back off the distortion for extended periods, they manage to introduce real texture, and the big, layered clean vocals bring some much need hookery to the party. They play it straight too; something neither of the other two manages. It takes the edge off of some of the absurdity and lets you get really engrossed in the music.

There’s so many genres mixed in here you could spend all day trying to list them - a couple of bars of Scandinavian guitars, a few jazz chords, and even a very brief round of gang vocals – and there’s always a danger of overwhelming the listener when you bombard them with so much intricacy. Managing to balance the mammoth technicality on display with memorable moments is an art form all its own, and its one The Arusha Accord seem adept at already.

The production and mixing are really first-class as well. Everything has its place, and everyone gets their moment to shine without stealing the focus from the rest of the band. The bass sound in particular is smooth and warm with a gritty edge that contrasts beautifully to the clean guitars. For once I don’t have a single complaint about the way this thing sounds – it’s just right.

The Arusha Accord is a band with a very healthy looking future indeed. This is their first proper EP and they don’t put a foot wrong on it. They manage to be intense and complex without sacrificing the songs or disregarding the listener’s wellbeing. It doesn’t get tiring to listen to because they’ve got great dynamic sensibilities, and it doesn’t’ get boring because they aren’t just showing off. There’s not a single unnecessary note in there – and trust me, there’s a whole load of notes. Fantastic stuff, and I can’t wait for a full length release.

For fans of: Sikth, Dillinger Escape Plan, Architects
Band link = The Arusha Accord

Buy this CD!