You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
The problem with most subgenres is that the flow of inspiration slows when it becomes stodgy with mediocre mimics and a paucity of fresh ideas.
NSEHG could easily have been tech metal also-rans: the futuristic djent-isms of debut album Age Of Sedation slotted comfortably into a scene-friendly pigeonhole, and yet there has always been something a little sharper and classier than average about this virtuoso four-piece. Their second album doesn’t exactly obliterate that earlier, safer formula, but these songs are manifestly more memorable and sophisticated than their predecessors. Vocalist James Denton does frequently switch to a guttural bark and it’s undeniable that this will appeal mostly to fans coming to prog from metal, rather than vice versa, as a result. But where NSEHG buck the trend is in the underlying grandeur and lightly-worn intricacy of everything here: If Only To Fall, an obvious highlight, is a thrilling blur of melodic extremity, Dream Theater pomp and post-hardcore bellowing, all glued together by a huge, radio-friendly chorus. One or two brief retreats into sugary metalcore territory aside, Endless Disconnect is an assured and substantial stride forward for one of UK prog metal’s brightest hopes.
