Calva Louise
Over The Threshold LP
With eight metal-infused songs, Calva Louise gives us a pretty substantial demonstration of how you spin a theme in many creative directions. If you like a mix of alternative and groove metal with some out-of-genre surprises, there’s something on this album for you.
The angsty chant of ‘Third Class Citizen’ opens the album. This song gets superbly choppy, switching from melodic to screaming and delivering a great riff. The riffery continues in the rich metal of ‘Feast Is Over’, a huge song with flickers of Nova Twins.
The fuzzy riff of ‘Oportunista’ follows, with its unusual beat in the verse and a punchy chorus. ‘Con Corazon’ is a little different, a real stomping rock track with a dark guitar line. The pre-chorus brings a Latin rhythm and there’s a melodic hook that kicks through the chorus.
The smouldering ‘Square One’ has an industrial edge with a great rhythm to the chorus vocal. The slow pounding ‘Human Becoming’ switches perfectly from section to section. The spidery guitar that turns up throughout the song is great, as are the synth transitions.
The title track, ‘Over The Threshold’, is a stunning composition, showcasing the mix of guitar and synth, their ability to create interesting tones and rhythms, and providing a rich melodic top line.
‘Outtro’ flows neatly out of this final song and provides a wonderful sliding landing for the record.
The band achieves this immense sound thanks to the guitars and bass switching to keyboard duties to create epic ambient breaks. This multi-instrumental approach means this three-piece creates some special moments. Vocally, all bases are covered from raging screams to sweet melodies.
As I listened to this record, each track gave me the same feeling. Yes, I think this is my favourite track. In the end, how do you pick one track from this pack stuffed with aces?
Human Becoming Video
Watch Calva Louise – ‘Human Becoming’.
Over The Threshold Video
Watch Calva Louise – ‘Over The Threshold’.
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