East of the Wall have been tearing through hearts and minds for a long while now, but from time to time guitarist Matt Lupo drops something of his very own, and the result is very different.
From the opening chords of "Presence," it's clear that this is going to be a much dreamier affair than an EotW record, or even one of the previous Opul EPs, The Assailant. Distorted guitars are not scarce, but moments that I'd deem "heavy" are. Matt Lupo seems to be more fond of atmosphere and post-rock warmth when he's on his own ever since Personnel.
Technicality is typically at the forefront of Lupo's playing with East of the Wall, however, chaos and the acrobatics of his phalanges take a backseat on Levels. Instead, more traditional song structure is in place. This isn't to say these songs are boring, because it doesn't need to be guitar wankery all the time. Instead, the listener gets fantastic song writing within the structure that many are familiar with. The finest example of this would have to be the closing gem "Clarity." It's such a fantastic track that doesn't need to break a mold to be attention grabbing.
This EP is what I'd imagine a non-instrumental Cloudkicker record would sound like in Ben Sharp's more recent creative mindset. "Velocity & Saturation" is a lush and rhythmically hypnotic track that I could see pairing very well on a Pandora station with something from Subsume and the same could be said for the aforementioned "Clarity."
This EP is a brief enjoyable showcase of another side of a great musician. If East of the Wall fans have slept on Opul, y'all need to get on board. The same goes for anyone interested in prog metal/rock in general, really.
Download Levels, and everything by Opul, here.
