Even by prog metal’s idiosyncratic nature, Athens-based Tardive Dyskinesia’s position is tough to pinpoint, taking their cues from a variety of bands and delivering a sonic tapestry summed up by the title of their fourth effort. Fire Red Glass Heart and Thread Of Life’s polyrhythmic noodling and fiery sludge thunder are complemented by a raw production that leaves plenty of rough on the edges.
Savior Complex moves from Southern rock to a mournful sax break, while the metallic riffs and hooks of Echoes 213 offer the most instantaneous route for breaking through the album’s dense wall of sound. Triangulation Through Impasse will appeal to djent fans with its precision convulsions and melodic wanderings, while Self Destructive Haze and Concentric Waves borrow from Meshuggah and Mastodon. However, the Greeks imbue each song with enough of their own character to allow Harmonic Confusion to stand up as progressive music in the truest sense of the word.
