after i ordered two unique leader records releases via the german distro hhv.de, i was quite on a prog/tech death metal kick. since the label has a few bands in their roster that tick all the right boxes when it comes to this musical mood of mine, i checked what else might be worth to add to the collection. so i stumbled upon a band called invoking the abstract. i listened to the first tunes of their debut full length "aural kaleidoscopes" via bandcamp and noticed a strong animals as leaders vibe going on.
this little reminiscence was enough for me to order a copy. some ebay sellers located in switzerland seem to have some sort of distribution deal with a few oversea labels or a wholesaler, in any case i was able to order a copy of "aural kaleidoscopes" for seventeen bucks postage paid. real fair in my eyes. when my copy arrived unharmed and after i listened to it a couple of times i couldn't quite shake off the animals as leaders similarities but ultimately this isn't even an issue. i friggin' love animals as leaders plus i don't have the feeling the invoking the abstract were copying.
quite on the contrary in fact. this four-piece is bursting with ideas and creativity. the band serves the technical side a bit more but still has enough atmospherical parts to catch a breath in between. "aural kaleidoscopes" is a wild, jazz-influenced instrumental journey through the wide fields of progressive metal. a journey you should join as long as copies are available. the presentation is quite basic but not like this would be a bad thing. slip sleeve cover and printed dust sleeve. comes on a nice black with cyan blue splatter vinyl. don't know about any pressing information. unique leader records. 2016.
