Review – Surrounding The Void
By Fist
Formed in 2000 Swiss metal band Palmer are a band that creates massive depth within their sound. Palmer has been forging their sound towards perfection for the last 16 years. This Swiss quartet is no typical four-four time metalcombo straight off the rack. Their strength comes from their ability to work as one cohesive unit. No member is more talented than the other and they shine as one entity. Palmer works intuitively and without restraints and their creations reflect an energy of immediate presence. Somewhere between post-metal and prog-rock the band has truly found their space in the metal world. The band released their debut in 2007 via Czar of Crickets titled ‘This One Goes To Eleven’, they followed that album up with ‘Momentum’ in 2011 this time releasing their work via Subversiv Records. The band of course takes ample time between albums, creating perfection takes time you know. Palmer has released their latest LP ‘Surrounding The Void’ on February 24th, 2017. It marks the bands return to Czar of Crickets as well.
“Home Is Where I Lead You” has a welcoming riff and drum beat leading you into Palmer’s sound. The guitar riffs really stand out on this track. They are tuned higher and ring out rhythmically and really garner your attention. Steve Diener’s vocals have an aggressive yet understandable tone. About three minutes into the track you think its coming to a close as everything winds down. It morphs into a much slower tempo with Ueli Heiniger’s bass licks taking center stage followed by a precision drum beat. From that point it goes from full charge aggression back to a minimal riff and repeats a couple times. The time signatures they have on this song are just insane and shows the true talents of the band. Coming in just short of 9 minutes “Divergent” is the longest track on the album. This song really takes the band into a more doom based sound. Down tubed, raw and at a snails pace the song really has a groove. The vocals are however at a faster pace than the instrumentation which provides great contrast. Steve Diener holds his notes for a long duration giving the band that true sludgy feel. The track is brutally heavy at times and then guitarist Jan Wälchli develops it into a minimalist riff, beat and spoken word like vibe. Palmer showcase on every track their ability to play around with tempo and speeding up and slowing down at the flip of a switch. Interchanging guitar riffs give “Divergent” a variation of layers and styles on this one single track. The drumming by Remo Röschli is truly the glue that holds the band together. He is a constant strength through every track. “Implosion” is a bittersweet track. It’s a greatly composed track, but sadly its the 9th and final track on ‘Surrounding The Void’. It has a delicate riff and a eerie bass line that leads into the heart of the track. This concluding song is instrumental, and shows the band can still dominate and have a voice without including vocals.