Peculiar Three – ‘Leap of Faith’: The trio that's changing progressive metal

Its offshoots blend many musical styles, with the most well-known being that of metal. The Peculiar Three being part of the alternative progressive metal scene, come to offer up their latest album. The record titled ‘Leap of Faith’ will take you on a journey down new musical paths and make you see progressive music through the eyes of this powerhouse trio.

Second record for the band

‘Leap of Faith’ is the band's second full-length work. It all began with their self-titled debut EP ‘p3culiar’ back in 2014. The alternative metal trio from Livadeia return with a rather distinctive record. Even though we have a picture of where the band is heading musically, the album shows plenty of different influences. There are songs with a more epic character that could easily hold their own on a fantasy movie soundtrack (‘Caliban's End’ is one of them). On these particular tracks, Peculiar Three show a melodic, atmospheric character.

But the record doesn't stop there. There are songs that counterbalance the above, offering intense rhythm and a heavier sound (one of them being ‘Knaves of Knives‘). The album can certainly give us a general picture of the band and their technique, but its most important element is that it has no norms or rules. It doesn't follow well-trodden musical choices, but instead offers up all the members' inspiration, unaffected and unfiltered.

Music with plenty of ingredients

The work of ‘Peculiar Three’ is multifaceted. There's one constant it presents: a refusal to offer anything boring or ordinary. And this is exactly what brings ‘Leap of Faith’ closer to its progressive nature. Starting with the drums, we find Paris (Paris Gatsios), who serves as the backbone of the rhythm. The tracks have plenty of changes in tempo and pauses. Listening to each track, you can never be sure what's coming next musically. All of this is backed up by the bass, the keys (whenever they're used!), and the vocals as well.

In the record's sound we can make out many layers of guitars. Panos (Panos Karkanas) is responsible for the guitars and keyboards, and his effort is focused on making the sound as three-dimensional as possible. Their texture seems to take two forms. One contains a clean, atmospheric sound and adorns the album's softer tracks. The second is more distorted and dynamic. Both, however, are used to give the album's music a distinctive style.

Getting to the vocals, we find Valantis (Valantis Dafkos – Vocals, backing vocals, bass). Having encountered Valantis's voice in other genres and bands, I can say that his approach on ‘Leap of Faith’ is very different. The voice seems to take on a more psychedelic role. It doesn't come across as so 'clean', since it's mixed with plenty of effects and multiple layers of second and third vocal harmonies. Also, its position sits more 'inside' the mix with the rest of the instruments. Generally speaking, the vocal melodies carry plenty of grit and intensity.

Editor's Choice: ‘Marginal’

‘Leap of Faith’ is a record with plenty of standout tracks. But ‘Marginal’ is the one that caught our attention, since it combines many elements of Peculiar Three's style. With melodies built on heavy guitar riffs, the first half of the song stays in repetition of the main melody, with vocals in low frequencies. A big shift happens from the middle onward, when the track ends up sounding more stoner than progressive. Thick sound and gritty vocals, which nonetheless remain hazy, following the music's aura.

‘Illusive, impulsive

Aggressive restart

Eruptive, emotive

It's falling apart’

‘Leap of Faith’ - tracklist:

1. Perpetual – 05:41
2. Innermost – 05:40
3. Inkblot – 05:44
4. Marginal – 05:36
5. Leap of Faith – 05:14
6. The Sentient – 04:55
7. Knaves o' Knives – 07:10
8. Caliban's End (bonus track) – 05:49

Credits

~ Vocals, Guitars, Bass and Drums were recorded at Locomotive Sound studio (Lamia). Guitars (clean) were recorded at One Take Recordings (Thebes). Keyboards were recorded at Saint George studio (Agios Georgios, Boeotia).

~ Mixing, Production and Mastering were done at Locomotive Sound studio (Lamia) by Hector Sochos.

~ Special Guests: Panos Makoulis (orchestration on “Caliban's End”, Mantis Savvidis (solo saz on “Innermost”).

~ Artwork & Layout were crafted by Sotiris Kotsonis.

‘The capacity to produce and appreciate music existed within the human species long before it reached the capacity for speech’ – Darwin

Music offers up emotions since it has the ability to affect our subconscious. Peculiar Three , for their part, know this and handle it flawlessly. The musical outfit gives in to its influences and to the need to create. ‘Leap of Faith’ cements the band's place as a new outfit within the progressive style, while at the same time showcasing the members' capabilities. With so many influences, the music of Peculiar Three takes us from Judas Priest and power metal paths all the way to stoner and atmospheric epic music.