While being the weirdest thing you can get at the moment, The Apex Theory is also the most original thing I've heard so far this year. Their music is just so strange, so odd, but at the same so innovative, that it doesn't take much for you to start respecting this band. Sure, being that weird, it might take a while until you digest the whole thing, but when you do open your eyes and ears to their music, you'll easily surrender to their talent and the style they're creating.
The Apex Theory's music is just so innovative that it's even hard to describe or compare them to anyone else. Increasing the level of difficulty is the fact that no song sounds like the other, they're all just completely different. At times it sounds heavy, at others it sounds amusing and at others it sounds electronic (!), but what I think what stands out in this 5 song EP, is really the emotion. But wait, don't get me wrong: they're not even near to what bands like Deftones, Sunny Day Real Estate or even Tool are doing. They're just...... different! Andy's vocals are 95% of the band's musical emotion. His versatility is highly unusual. His voice can sound really emotional, very harsh or even really weird, as in the demo's first track, "Shhh...", when it seems like he's just talking following the rhytmn of the song instead of actually singing. As weird as it may sound (I told you: this band is just weird), imagine this: screams and melodic vocals at times similar to Jonah's of Far and a singing style at times close to Serj's of System of a Down. Backed with BRILLIANT drum beats, almost sounding like a drum machine, a bass that stands out pretty much through the entire record, guitars that, in certain songs, hardly come up with a riff (instead it just doing weird sounds), and very nice keyboards that provide an interest background sound. This is the Apex Theory. Did you understand? Neither did I. Does it sounds nice? Hell yeah, it does....
Andy (vocals), Art (guitars / keyboards), David (bass) and Sammy J. (drums) prove with this EP that it is still possible to be original now a days. Even more incredible is that the cd has 5 tracks that aren't similar to each other in any way. "Shhh..." is heavy and weird while "That's All" is calm and soothing, almost like a trip-hop song. "Aisle Always" kinda reminds me of Far (!), while "Swing This" reminds me of System of a Down, thanks to Andy's singing style. It's almost like the band has thousands of paths to go, and they're analyzing each and everyone of them very well before deciding which one they want to follow. The bunch of new ideas that the Apex Theory shows on this debut EP makes me think of their upcoming full-length as an album that will be sure to influence future bands in 2-3 years.
It's really rare when originality and versatility walk side by side. Well, that's exactly what happens with the Apex Theory, and at such a high level that it's almost impossible to not see this band as a huge success in the metal scene in 1 or 2 years. The music these guys make is nothing but brilliant. In fact, something that may work against them is exactly the fact that they're too original. Unfortunately, this is not for everyone; people might find it way too weird for the present moment. Then again, it might also work as a plus for the band, since it's really difficult to be original nowadays, and that's something they're undoubtly. If there's any justice in this world, people will easily accept the Apex Theory as a new talent of the music scene and will get down on their knees for such an innovative type of music.
(4.5 / 5)
