Review by JD on September 13, 2010.

The newer versions and stylings of metal always surprise me, although sometime it is a bad surprise I have to add. They can be also very breathtaking and shows the growth that metal has done over the many years that I have been in the business, or they can be a scourge on the metal scene and be only metal in name alone.

United States based Dark Haven are the newer breed of Death/ Scream metal. Very frantic, razor sharp guitars and guttural yet nasty vocals... but that is just all they bring. They play as hard as anyone out there does in the scene, but I find absolutely nothing in the way of originality in any of the eleven tracks they deliver. The band is very relentless with its fury and ends up hitting you like a sandblaster on Styrofoam, yet the sad thing is they are like hundreds of other bands out there, and none of the qualities that would help them stand out. They have pure fire in every note they brandish, but they have nothing of real substance to back it up.

The songs are well written, but have no real sense of busting out of the normal shit the genre has to stand proudly above the others in victory. It is good that the amazing production values help out to some extent to add to the album, making it enjoyable but it still seems like that you have heard the music all before. You end up getting bored and move on, the CD put aside and will not be played very much.

I seem to linger with Dark Haven in my mind, because the band obviously have some real talent but has not used it. They should go back in and rethink what they want the band to be. If you let your talents go, you can go from mediocre to amazing with just a little work. Dark Haven have all the tools, now if they just do it, who knows what the band can do, as it is now, the band just does not cut it.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 5.5
Production: 8
Originality: 4
Overall: 5.5

Rating: 6.2 out of 10

Review by JD on September 13, 2010.

The newer versions and stylings of metal always surprise me, although sometime it is a bad surprise I have to add. They can be also very breathtaking and shows the growth that metal has done over the many years that I have been in the business, or they can be a scourge on the metal scene and be only metal in name alone.

United States based Dark Haven are the newer breed of Death/ Scream metal. Very frantic, razor sharp guitars and guttural yet nasty vocals... but that is just all they bring. They play as hard as anyone out there does in the scene, but I find absolutely nothing in the way of originality in any of the eleven tracks they deliver. The band is very relentless with its fury and ends up hitting you like a sandblaster on Styrofoam, yet the sad thing is they are like hundreds of other bands out there, and none of the qualities that would help them stand out. They have pure fire in every note they brandish, but they have nothing of real substance to back it up.

The songs are well written, but have no real sense of busting out of the normal shit the genre has to stand proudly above the others in victory. It is good that the amazing production values help out to some extent to add to the album, making it enjoyable but it still seems like that you have heard the music all before. You end up getting bored and move on, the CD put aside and will not be played very much.

I seem to linger with Dark Haven in my mind, because the band obviously have some real talent but has not used it. They should go back in and rethink what they want the band to be. If you let your talents go, you can go from mediocre to amazing with just a little work. Dark Haven have all the tools, now if they just do it, who knows what the band can do, as it is now, the band just does not cut it.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 5.5
Production: 8
Originality: 4
Overall: 5.5

Rating: 6.2 out of 10

Review by Brian on November 26, 2013.

An album of this nature should be released with warning labels. WARNING: This is not for the casual listener. WARNING: There are no vocals contained on this release. WARNING: Listening to this may cause your face to melt and your brain to explode.

Exivious play Progressive Jazz Metal fusion. Being the brain child of former Cynic guitarist Tymon Kruidenier, whose performance on the "Traced In Air" LP and "Re-Traced" EP, which is stellar to say the least. The band also features former Pestilence drummer Yuma van Eekelen, bassist Robin Zielhorst and gutarist Michel Nienhuis, who create soundscapes, that will expand the mind if not blow it up completely.

When I hear the words Jazz Metal fusion, I tend to be very skeptical. It seems as a lot of bands take on this task with best intentions, but somehow fall short of the mark. This is not due to a lack of musicianship, but rather the ability to craft memorable songs. It's as if the focus leans more towards them noodling with their instruments and technicality rather than playing with feeling and creating a song that has a flow to it. This is not the case with Exivious. Although they have all the technical ability in the world, they manage to craft extremely memorable songs.

Exivious also manage not to get get stuck in any form of this expansive sound for too long. Although, there is not as much heavy guitar riffage as there is technical fret playing, there is enough to keep the listener happy and interested in what they are hearing. The other key element, is when the guitars are going off on their journey, they never go to far that the listener gets lost. They somehow have found a perfect balance. I mention the guitars, because as I see it, they're the focal point. However, each instrument is placed perfectly in the mix to give "Liminal" the best possible sound that can be obtained. The other great thing about this release is that aside for the use of saxophone on 'Deeply Woven' these four guys pull off this sound with just guitars, bass and drums. The idea of this stripped down instrumentation approach makes this a remarkable album and something to behold.

"Liminal" is only the second release from Exivious, and if this is what they can accomplish this early in their career, the sky is the limit for these guys. If you like to be challenged by the music you listen to, and pick up on sounds and ideas you may have missed during the first ten listens, than this album is for you.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 9
Originality: 8.5
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.9 out of 10