CETERUM
Cleveland, Ohio, United States | SELF
Music
Press
The first track, "Insolence.Recoil", is the hardest and heaviest track on the EP. This song would be perfect for a movie soundtrack - preferably an action flick. The second track, "Imbue Elan Vital", is the most melodic and longest track of the three (close to seven minutes). Still, it is a very well-written and well-performed song. It starts out slow and then it picks up to a nice pace. It puts the listener on a roller-coaster ride. The last track, "Ominous", is just as hard and heavy as the first. A lot of emphasis is on the power chords, which is very good for headbanging. It's very hard to pick a favorite out of the three. They are all awesome tracks.
I like Ty Jividen’s vocals. He has that unique singing that no listener can compare to anyone else. That uniqueness I love a lot in any kind of music. As soon as someone says, “that guy sounds like Bruce Dickinson, or Rob Halford, or that guy from Green Day, etc.”, that comparison can be a turn-off. It is much better to establish that individuality in your music. That certain "je ne sais quoi" will get a group noticed by music fans and record producers. Once you get compared to someone or somebody else, you become the flavor of the month. And Ceterum is not the flavor of the month…they are much better than that.
Overall, damn good EP. I hope their first full-length is just as good, if not better. Great work guys! Keep it up.
See my previous blog for a link to their official website. It is worth checking.
5 stars.
RATING SYSTEM FOR FUTURE CD REVIEWS
5 stars...excellent - download the whole album on your iPod or MP3 player.
4 stars...good - put the album in your CD rack.
3 stars...average - pick your 1 or 2 favorite songs, and then sell the album to a good independent store; good luck at getting plenty of money for it.
2 stars...bad - you should have rented it from your local public library.
1 star...horrible - avoid the album like the black plague and spare yourself from the immunization vaccines. - Bryan Nelson Griffin, Jr. -- Freelance
"Warning: The powerful range of Ty Jividen's unrelenting, emotional vocals are likely to grab your skin and send chills deep enough to penetrate every visible pore. [He is] one of the best local lead vocalists in the state -- both live and in the studio. Fans of Tool, A Perfect Circle and early Chevelle will immediately be attracted to the dark, stylistic riffs and ever changing time signatures produced by this sonically explosive, solid unit of musicians.
The professionally packaged EP offers three songs to prematurely saturate the taste buds with a 'kick in the face', but the four-piece band will soon be entering the studio again to track their debut full-length. The sample taste with ominous lyrics and a nebulous promo concept will likely leave many hungry for more." - Neil Shumate, Out of the Blue Publications
"This is what heavy music should be." - Toby Taylor, Refuse the Fall
"Some of the best I've heard in the hard rock [genre] by far." - Joe Parm, Dailiss
Discography
"Proportions" EP - released March 2009
Debut full-length album (forthcoming) - 2011
Photos
Bio
Initially presenting a complex style derived from numerous elements of ambient metal and progressive rock combined with experimental overtones, Cleveland-based CETERUM continued to hone their moody and melodically dark sound as the project grew into its own. Formed in Great Falls, Montana, in 2001 by Bill Sanchez (bass) and Jason Broussard (drums), the first incarnation was heavily inspired by modern art-rock pioneers Tool and their use of unorthodox song structures and time signatures. Composing adventurous instrumental arrangements, it wasn’t until four years later that the duo finally found the permanent additions they sought in guitarist Jared Amlin and vocalist Ty Jividen. With a complete lineup, the band began to further evolve, while incorporating other aspects to create their musical identity – atmospheric synths and polyrhythmic experimentation, as well as influences ranging from Porcupine Tree, Meshuggah, Pulse Ultra and Karnivool.
With members hailing from various regions of the country, the quartet permanently relocated to Ohio and began playing small shows and building a devoted following. After being tapped to support bands like Soilwork and Helmet, the group garnered local attention in 2008, but the outfit experienced an unexpected hiatus following a facial injury suffered by Jividen, which left him unable to sing for several months. Upon Jividen’s recovery, CETERUM independently released the EP Proportions a year later – a collaboration with multi-platinum, award winning producer Michael Seifert (Dave Matthews Band, Tori Amos). The track “Insolence.Recoil” has since received significant regional airplay reaching all the way to Knoxville, Tennessee, as well as being featured on WJCU’s Metal on Metal program to enthusiastic feedback.
After the release of Proportions, the band continued to write and sonically mature, as guitarist Matt McFarland expanded the lineup to a five-piece. Armed with an arsenal of diverse material and having inked a development deal with Seifert’s Reversed Image Productions, CETERUM’s debut full-length album is slated for a winter release.
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