Ukraine doesn’t get much notoriety in the metal community, despite having a great assemblage of bands that have yet to be discovered. One of which are Septa from Odesza, who have been making a name for themselves through numerous releases on their Bandcamp. Now with a new, diverse sound incarnated into the band, comes their third full-length entitled “Sounds Like Murder”.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Yxe06Uov0]
Septa’s previous record Destroyer focused on a more mathcore type of approach, and while the quartet keeps that same style, they’ve added more of their original, alternative-prog nature to the mix. In the crystal-clean production in Sounds Like Murder, Septa bring out a much livelier and more compelling personality of themselves. At the same time, they follow through with a concept of a detective-like storyline which leads on from their debut The Lover which deals with domestic abuse.
One will find “Sounds Like Murder” to contain several songs that are all nearly completely different from each other. Tracks such as Sky Moves Faster and Where There Is No Time rely particularly on a more alternative-prog style to that of Coheed & Cambria or Karnivool, whereas The Seducer and High Pitch Noise put more of a chaotic charm to the album. Septa also find time to blend aggressiveness and cleaner sections together in Red Code and Following, and even going into a Thrice-like throwback singalong in Ropes.
Sounds Like Murder’s essence as a whole thrives on diversity. And that alone is what makes itself such a standout record. With a product by a group that hardly anyone outside of their country has ever heard of, it will be a shock how an album like this wouldn’t get them further into the industry. If Ukraine had to have one band to help lead their heavy music scene, you’d sure as hell bet they would have to rely on an entity like Septa. And Sounds Like Murder is the key part of their resume.
