Review by JD on October 19, 2015.

I am a fan of the progressive ends of metal. It is the musician in me that loves the whole artistry in it, and it seems to stimulate every last drop of creative juices that flow through my body. I do have this major level of pickiness with the music as well, as I am critical of it all at the same time (hence the reason why I write reviews).

I offer up to the reviewing gods a six man band, fitted with three guitarists, who have emerged from Finland into the spotlight of global metal. Volucrine is a very quirky prog metal act that also uses these bizarre shadings of melodic death metal’s pounding riffs and growled vocals to produce an EP for themselves that does explore these two genres and just what they end up making out of it.

There are five songs offered up here on this EP, including an acoustic version of track 4 that seemed not to have been a part of the original released EP. I love the four original songs, the quirkiness meshing with the melodic riffage and sometimes mega-brutal vocals are the draw here for me. My favorite song is the title track. With all of its odd-ball time changes, and very heavy riffs, it keeps intriguing while making me wanting to hear more and its hard to make this old headbanger want to do after so many years in the metal scene.

I could have done without the acoustic last reprise, but other than that this was a good album. Is this release in league with other prog metal acts? The Clockwork Tyrant is good on so many levels, but there is room to grow and become better for these Fins. They have not scaled to metal’s summit yet, but they will.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10