Cobweb Strange - The Temptation of Successive Hours



1. Clarity's Advent (4:37) 2. The Sand Reckoner (4:01) 3. Gentle Darkness (5:21) 4. Away From Truth (2:57) 5. Solver (3:47) 6. First (5:01) 7. Edicius (4:21) 8. Giant (4:01) 9. Self-Indulgence (2:51) 10. Astral Projection (7:11) I. Chaos of Being II. To Swim Within Echoes III. Out of Sheltered Sanity IV. The Nothing Beyond Time

Total Running Time: 44:25

Every once in a while, one gets to read pretty bizarre descriptions of a band's musical style…you know what I mean…"Metallica meets Lynyrd Skynyrd," (Raging Slab) for instance. Well, how would you react if I described Cobweb Strange's The Temptation of Successive Hours as a head-on collision between a heavy and more straightforward Rush, Killers-era Iron Maiden, and vintage Blue Öyster Cult? Confused? Well, don't worry, it's normal.

On its debut album, the American band immediately succeeded in putting down a uniquely identifiable sound on CD, and thus made it extremely hard to attempt describing it by way of comparison. In other words, the closest one will ever get to explaining the way Cobweb Strange sounds is by actually putting in the CD and making someone listen to it. Of course, doing that is rather simple for me because I'm actually listening to the record right now, but it may be a bit harder for those out there who've never heard the band. If you are among those, please bare with me.

Cobweb Strange is one of those progressive metal acts that seems to be stuck somewhere in limbo, with little, if any, regard for what the vogue is out there, and thus has a style that departs from mainstream tastes. To begin with, the band is not exactly very progressive, choosing instead to rely on delay-filled and roomy guitar arpeggios, driving riffs that are heavy in a Killers way, and the perfectly coordinated interplay between bassist/vocalist Wade Summerlin and drummer Derik Rinehart. Particularly immanent to the band's style, however, are Summerlin's laid back and somewhat nasal vocals, which, as far as I know, are a main point of complaint for those who do not like the band's style.

"Yeah, yeah, all that is well and good, but what about the damn album?" Well, The Temptation of Successive Hours is a fairly enjoyable record and certainly has its moments, particularly in the quirky opener "Clarity's Advent," the semi-retro "Giant," and the smothering beginning of "Edicius," and, honestly speaking, there's really not much to complain about here except for the record's thin production. Unfortunately, however, while none of the album's songs fall into the mediocre category, most of them fail to stand out as well, and there is no absolute pile driver of a track such as is "…As the Sky Crumbles" on the band's second album. The Temptation of Successive Hours is an important part of the band's short history so far though, and demonstrates that Cobweb Strange is a group that could indeed make something long lasting out of its uniqueness if only a bit of rethinking and reorganizing is done.

-by Marcelo Silveyra

back to top