I have a strange love/hate relationship with most jam bands. There's usually an air of pretense and self-importance about them (look at us, we can stretch a song out for 45 minutes, aren't we special?) which is generally one of the most destructive mistakes that a musician can make (there are few who can pull it off effectively). Usually these bands are hippies or, much like the hippies, like to indulge themselves in the sticky-icky-icky (or other mind-altering substances, take your pick).

Want some examples? Too bad, here they come: Sigur Rós has a great sound, but how arrogant is naming an album ()? "Boo hoo... the big bad record company forced me to sign this ridiculous contract where I get no money and have limited artistic creativity, I know... lets completely frustrate people when they ask for our CD, so they say 'well uh, the title is a begin and end parenthesis, you know... ahhh...' Yeah, that will teach the jerks to mess around with me! I've got a violin bow, and I'm not afraid to use it!" Phish. Hippies who do more drugs than Robert Tilton. Said hippies haven't yet figured out that they aren't a nu-metal band, so they really ought to rename their band Fish. Then on the other side of the fence are bands like Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. These bands might have a smattering of immodest smugness, but they pull it off in a way that isn't blatant in-your-face arrogance.

In comes Comity blending more types of metal than you can shake a stick at; all with a jam-band mentality. Though only five songs short, the entire CD is over fifty minutes long. Much like Mogwai and GYBE, Comity pulls off these ultra-long songs in a way that showcases their talent more than it does their ego.

Who do they sound like? Imagine taking bands like Converge, Shai Hulud, Unearth, Hopesfall, Norma Jean, Every Time I Die, Skycamefalling, etc, into a blender then combining several songs into one eleven minute song. That's Comity.

The only major song that I couldn't stand was the second song, Act II - A Track to Forget What Has Been Forgotten (Introduce yourself to me/us please call 555.618524) (did I mention that their song titles are ridiculously long as well?) which is mixed in such a way that if you are wearing headphones while you listen you are guaranteed a migraine or your money back. However they make up for song two with song three Act I - Scene 2 Her Own King Theory (What the Fuck is Miscommunication?) which is the song is that is the most approachable going from technical gouging metal to slower death metal.

This would be a great album for people who live, eat, and breathe metal. It's all in there.

Buy it from Messiah Records or Jason Records.

Mike Frost
www.buzzgrinder.com