Capstone are a band that combines ragged howling vocals, with deft rapping ability funk, that toss rap, metal, alternative and various other elements of music into one large cauldron of musical mayhem. The band is utterly impressive from top to bottom and of all places they hail from Wisconsin. This release was originally done for a major label and features three new tracks and three tracks from their previously released album "Unearthed", those tracks being "1314", "Silver", "Mouth Of Madness". Focusing on the new material it's hard to pick a band that is close in musical capacity to Capstone but at times they do bring to mind Liquid Gang and Tool sound wise and perhaps a bit of the Deftones and (hed)pe but that would only be in influence and not style. Instantly the thing that sticks out most from this CD is the vast amount of originality the band possesses and how proficient they are at crafting songs, the attention to detail, crafty use of effects, distortion shifting to clean tones, turntables and vocal dynamics ranging from raps to electronically distorted screams really work well and pay off in spades for the band. Vocally the band features two different vocalists, one for the emotions and one for the raps and this time around the band brings a much more rap heavy style with flows reminiscent of the obscure collaboration of the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. and Faith No More on the long since forgotten soundtrack to Judgment Night. When it's rap that's called for it's a very hearty flow combined with a husky vocal tone that fits very snug within wah smothered riffs, but when it shifts to the emotional choruses and breakdowns and even at times verses its a weary pained sounding vocal reminiscent of Tool singer Maynard that utterly captivates the listener with it's mature wilting emotion. It is hard to try and describe in detail the range of vocals the band has or the mastery of tone control that is possessed, but to put it lightly the spectrum of emotion gets covered with expert skill, making the vocals turn into a finely tuned instrument of their own. Lyrics are also a treat although not giving an exact clear vision of what is being said they provide a very intellectual tone and deal with issues not necessarily personal but more of general life experiences. Guitar wise there is a good amount of distortion put out with moderate downtuning that lays down the surface for the aggravation the band lets loose in choruses and breakdowns, an interesting note would be the way the wah and some other effects are used with a distortion laced riff really creating a feverish buzzing pitch. Verses and intros however contain a whole different aspect of the instrument with ambient hip hop suggestive loop sounding samples that hint at possible influences from the playing of Wes Borland or Tom Morello but instead of copying them its a more organized and organic manner. Bass is essentially a backbone of the Capstones's music and doesn't really have a chance to shine unless the band is plodding through a more lush experimental soundscape, when this occurs it can take on a very ominous haunting tone flowing through an almost evil hooky looping riff similar to slowing down a funk record to a bout 10bpm. One thing that does stand out about the bass playing though is the tendency to letting notes ring out, meaning instead of falling for the trap of playing striking, muting notes or percussive slaps alot of attention is put to letting the bass notes fade out on their own will which gives a much fuller dimension to the music. Drums are solid with a warm clean tone, not overly tuned or downtuned they usually beat through spacious steady beats that build up steam and eventually let loose. Another note to be mentioned about drums is the attention put to the kick drum and snare dynamics rather then just falling off into a hip hop beat which has become more common recently in modern music. Turntables are another addition to the library of music that Capstone offers and as it is with other parts of this band they fail to disappoint, a more direct approach is taken, not letting out clear samples but instead bringing a consistent scratching that flows through tracks providing more of an instrumental tone then an ambient one, this in turn provides a refreshing take at how to integrate turntables into a band which is more guitar oriented. Standout tracks are varied, for the more explosive side of the band it would be "Nobody Move" which showcases a vicious torrid rap that melds into howling grunge reminiscent vocals dragging the listener along through multiple emotions on choruses that start with standard screams and eventually explode into protest like chants of "Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt". Another highlight of the song of course is the faint resemblance to a seminal Eazy-E song of the same name from long ago. Meanwhile for the more emotional smoothed out side of the band "Two Fingers" would be a better recommendation with a hushed intro meshing into a coarse rap and backed with almost sighing vocal hums layered over a mellow more rapcore styled vibe that eventually builds up into a ferociously aggressive all out assault with drawn out vocal howls and chanting rough pitched rhymes at the same time. To see a downside in this band is not an easy thing at all, they are without question one of the most talented bands out there, it is possible however that the bands more acute focus on incorporating more rap and less emotional wailing vocals into the music as they do on the new material could work against them as a more even mix seems to work better in their favor. On the upside though the addition of turntables are a plus giving the band more expansive layered sonance. Capstone may come out of nowhere, but they do so bursting with skill, song structure and furious emotion so sharp it's without question that this band deserves to be in any fan of crossover music's CD collection, it's also hard to grasp as to why this band isn't signed yet. With such gifted talent and musical prowess you can almost be guaranteed to expect big things from this almost larger then life sounding band in the future.
(4.5 / 5)