I’m searching for an analogy on this one. Guess the only thing that springs to mind on this humid evening is when you’re watching Anthony Bourdain (RIP) on No Reservations and he goes to a Tapas place or some fancy small plate restaurant. The micro bites seem delicious, and the chef is eager to share the details behind the dishes but can’t help to think that Bourdain must’ve helped himself to a sandwich afterwards. No way he was just satisfied with the doll-sized portions, right?

Same feeling I got with Esodic’s De Facto De Jure (Self Released). There’s lots of aggression, pounding drums, and acoustic flourishes to whet the musical appetite, but it’s done way too quickly. Business is conducted here in just a hair under thirteen minutes.

And you’re probably saying to yourself: “Hey, this is an EP, what else were you expecting?” Fair point, I guess, but let’s take a look at Esodic’s discography for a second. For band that formed originally in 2003 there’s not much to find. De Facto De Jure is only their second EP amongst some scattered singles and demos.

And yes, we must acknowledge that the social and political landscape of the band’s native Jordan played a major role on their release schedule. But listening to De Facto De Jure leaves me feeling like the time to pull the trigger on an LP is now. ‘Consequence’ has hard-hitting Thrash Metal tempos colliding with progressive acoustic touches which recall Sylosis. ‘Dirge’ dares to go further down the progressive route and plays well with its light and shade dynamics. Makes you miss The HAARP Machine. Whatever happened to those guys?

To wrap everything up in neat Death Metal bow, the title track comes on late with a series of blast beats and alternating tempos courtesy of Zed Amarin and a classy guitar solo from Michael Nolasco.

It was a fine sample tasting but I’m ready for the main course. Can we get these guys signed and in studio for a proper album release?

Buy the EP here:
http://esodic.com

8 / 10
HANS LOPEZ