September 16
Words by Erin Eddy
Calling fans of Periphery, Karnivool and Spiritbox!
If you like your music deliciously djenty with a sprinkling of prog, you’re going to want to check out the new EP by Sydney’s Reliqa. Sharing the title of the opening track, I Don’t Know What I Am is approximately 23 minutes of excellently dynamic, refreshingly original heavy music.
Strap yourself in. You won’t find yourself being eased into anything here, this EP commences with an
aural punch in the face. The jolting and commanding vocals of Monique Pym demand your attention,
with djent guitars lacing the stop-start rhythm of this opening track, I Don’t Know What I Am.
I instantly fell in love with this song. It carries you through a seriously chaotic four minutes and fifteen seconds of switching from sharp riffs to atmospheric soaring vocals, then suddenly sucking you into what sounds like an 80’s computer game as the tune glitches out into a funky little electronic interlude, before finally spitting you out into a savagely heavy conclusion. A very, very cool tune!
The Bearer Of Bad News sprinkles a bit of spice throughout, with a slightly traditional Middle Eastern feel underlying. It lends to the song an interesting feel and gives me slight System Of A Down vibes.
The third track, Safety, begins ominously before launching into super djenty-ness, with the added tastiness of guest vocals by Sean Harmanis of Make Them Suffer. The two vocalists’ styles compliment each other perfectly in this song, and there’s a juicy ol’ breakdown in there to serve as a cherry on top of a powerful tune.
Second Nature, while still being heavy, also offers up a softer, melodic progressive feel, akin to Karnivool. The placement of this song in the middle of the EP is well thought out and really breaks up the aggressiveness of the other songs.
A striking drum intro brings us into the fifth song, Blip, an instrumental track which carries on the Karnivool vibes, adorned with a bass line that has exceptionally delicious tone.
The final track on the EP, The Ritualist, gives me full Periphery vibes, instrumentally. Vocally, Monique is almost rapping in sections, and I was pleased to pick up the slight hint of her Australian accent as I’m personally fond of vocalists (from any country) not altering their accent when they sing.
Monique’s vocal style is very distinct, making her the sort of singer that will become easily recognisable as the band gains more and more exposure. The musicianship of Brandon Lloyd, Miles Knox and Brandon Knox is explosive, polished and aggressive while Monique’s voice lends a symphonic, melodic, yet commanding layer. All six songs are incredibly dynamic, switching from djenty and proggy to aggressive and punchy, to sweet and soaring, and a little bit of electronica thrown in for good measure. Reliqa is clearly an innovative group of musicians that gel incredibly well together.
Produced, mixed and mastered by Chris Blancato, the production quality is great, making this an extremely powerful collection of songs by a band that I think is only just getting started. While they have played a decent amount of high profile shows already, I predict Reliqa are well on their way to becoming a big deal.
