EP Review: Vestige

Vestige is the second EP from Hamilton based Metal band Seas of Conflict. These guys are not new to the scene, having been around since 2011, and have been consistently releasing material independently while still in high school through till now. They have been slowly gaining a name for themselves and have supported a heap of international acts which is helping them to refine their art. Kiwi metal heads have really upped their game in the last ten years and the young musicians that are now starting to come through are extremely talented and well versed in their craft. Vestige is a great example of that and consists of 6 slabs of metal goodness.

Opening with Temporal Oceans, which is also the first video to be released, you get a taste of what the band is about. Mixtures of hardcore, prog and metal all fused together. I’m pretty keen on the swirling atmospheric sounds and scenery that they create and, in my opinion, it does seem to be part of what makes a lot Kiwi metal and rock what it is. There’s mixtures of growling vocals and clean vocals which show off the many talents of this band.

From vocals, guitar and through to the drums the production on this is immaculate making it very listenable. There’s plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested. One of my favourite tracks is Lightless, about half way through. It’s one of the slower pieces before it powers back up. Jared from Barracks shows up to help them along in Tantalus, which is another standout track.

These guys show us older metal fans that we should have more faith in the youth of today as they are creating fresh and inspired music. There always needs to be fresh new talent and these guys have it in spades. This is another great Kiwi metal release definitely worth a listen.