Ithomiid - A Thousand Journals

Ithomiid

A Thousand Journals
self-released; 2014

3.4 out of 4

By Ted Rogen

In 2012 brothers Eric Peixoto (lead vocals/guitar) and Kevin Peixoto (drums/vocals), Kevin Buschkowsky (guitar/vocals) and Nic Gustafson (bass guitar) combined forces to create Ithomiid. The four-piece meld progressive metal and punk into a style that isn’t quite as popular today as a number of oversaturated genres. Eric Peixtoto sings like a punk. His nasally voice is certainly reminiscent of punk and you can picture him anxiously delivering his lyrics while sweating when he sings. The guitars are sometimes covered in the high-end sheen you would expect from a metal album while the double bass drum of Kevin Peixotot only reinforces the genre.

Their recent effort A Thousand Journals a fourteen-song album is an intense journey that isn’t for the faint hearted. It comes at you hard and fast. If you need an extra jolt of adrenaline in the morning this album should work for you.

The band kicks things off with “Crown.” I could barely handle the ridiculous amount of kick drum action that the drummer was pouring out. Even the parts where the guitars were clean he managed to fit enough hits per measure that it would have been sufficient for a normal pop song. The lead guitar work was impressive during the verse and the vocalist never lacked original lyrical content.

If “Crown” didn’t get your motor going then I’m sure “Heather” will. Peixotot rarely sounds like a cliché. Lyrics such as “All the world’s religion couldn't build you a popular shrine” and “ controls the planets at her will, more negative side effects then pills.”

The most obvious combination of metal exists on “Every Page.” PIexoto is on the verge of a demon like growl at points but when the chorus hits it sounds like punk 101.

The first real deviation comes on “Impressions.” The acoustic guitars and sensitive vibes end up sounding like a different band. It wasn’t a bad song. In fact I really liked the vocal but did feel it was a bit out of place. After “Impressions” the band rolls through songs like “Guardian,” “Employer” and “Fact,” which adhere to the style they present towards the beginning of the album.

Not every song works for me on A Thousand Journals but most of them did. It was nice to hear a metal/punk band that doesn’t sound like everything else out there today.

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