Take progressive rock in its purest experimental form, add a hint of jazz, mash in some metal a-la-Meshuggah to the recipe, and the result is a truly amazing album by a Chilean band that goes by the name Coprofago. Galy records has caught me off guard a few times with some really solid releases with bands such as UnexpecT and Augury, each possessing something quite original when compared to normal Metal standards, and this time is no different. I may not be the hugest Meshuggah fan, but preferences aside, I can definitely admit when music is well written, sharp and original, and Coprofago’s Unorthodox Creative Criteria definitely makes the bill.

The album begins very much Meshuggah-like with extremely heavy riffs that follow the very off-tempo drumming with surgical precision. The bass lines stand out quite a bit and the aggressive vocals on the tune titled Crippled Tracker even make you wonder if this band is a total Meshuggah rip-off. It’s only when the second track rolls around titled The Inborn Mechanics and the synths and solos are busted out that you really say to yourself “oh… damn… that’s interesting”. This track, like the first, again starts off ultra-heavy and off-tempo, but roughly a minute through morphs into a kind of psychedelic jazz interlude that seamlessly interchanges with the heavy aspects of the music and puts aside the aggressive vocals (yes…they sound Meshuggah-ish also) for something that almost borders an epic and ultra-progressive sound. It’s only after this second tune that one will begin to realize that this album is quite out there. The guitar solo-interludes in tracks like Streams, Isolated Through Multiplicity, and Motion give the impression that your listening to some Liquid Tension Experiment but when the smooth and bizarre sounding syths kick in the music sounds closer to electronica or something in the same vein. I can certainly say that these effects manage to blend very well with the heavy nature of the album because it’s obvious that there are some talented musicians behind this band’s music but also because the production is top-notch. On a good stereo, the psychedelic sounds travel from speaker to speaker with a crisp sound that truly adds points to the quality of this album.

The tempo at which the music is recorded is also something that is worthy of mention. The album interchanges between speedy and slower moments but the beat at which the music is played is quite special since I’d say there really isn’t a moment on the album that one can clap rhythmically to. Lets just put it this way, if anyone intends on learning a Coprofago tune, id suggest putting the metronome away.

Though this is quite the fantastic effort, the vocals and an occasional heavy riff here and there give a first impression that this album is a Meshuggah copy. Even if the close similarities do earn some scrutiny, I still maintain that this is a good/interesting album by the Chileans that call themselves Coprofago. It’s been a while since a band has truly surprised me like they have, so they’ve definitely earned a “Surprise of the Month” title.