Tobias – Vocals

Matthew – Guitar

Bari – Guitar

Charlie – Bass

Luke – Drums

             The U.K., but founded in Africa band of Esoterica, which recently played on the KERRANG! Tour not to mention supporting HIM at a sold-out Hammersmith Apollo releases their brand new album, The Fool, via Bieler Bros Records. The album which dropped in April of 2008 features 11 tracks plus a view bonus items. The dark but superbly crafted album will grab a hold of you and suck you into its rhythm. It begins with the track “Exposed.” It’s a great start to the album as it displays both musical talent and vocals. It is a super easy track to sing along with and should be a crowd pleaser. “Don’t Rely On Anyone” picks the pace up from track one as the guitars offer up amazing balance and the addition of some backing vocals enhance the lead vocals. “Samples” begins with a guitar solo that explodes into pounding drums. It also offers great lyrics that captures your inner singer and forces you to sing along. “Salvation” puts on display the songwriting ability of the band as the lyrics tells a story that many need to hear. “Pushing Providence” is a unique track as it goes from hard and heavy to soft then back and forth…again and again. “Life Is Lonely” is one of the best of the album. Its music and vocals are very smooth through the transitions of the song. It also is very catchy and should be another fan favorite. The title track “The Fool” comes into play at number 9. It’s an okay track with a great passion released throughout it. “Close Your Eyes” ends the normal section of the album before the bonus content. It’s a very soft and emotional track. Tobias puts so much emphasis on the vocals and releases every once of energy during the passionate, intimate track. Next up is an acoustic version of “Don’t Rely On Anyone.” It adds another dimension to a track that was already strong. “Watch This Drive,” a demo, begins with our beloved president, and then streams into a powerful track that is great. It the hardest song on the album with an array of different sounds screaming out of the guitars and drums along with insane vocals. The album concludes with 2 remixes one of “Salvation” and the other of “Exposed” both add diversity to the songs and the album. Overall this is a great debut album. I’d like to see more rip roaring tracks like the demo of “Watch This Drive” but as they grow many the intensity of the music will too. They add a lot of new sounds into their music that not many bands do. The album is a solid play from begin to end with an exception of track 5 which is a minute hiccup on the track list. Fans of Tool and A Perfect Circle and now Ashes Divide should love it as it goes along with the genre very well.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My favorite tracks:

Exposed, Samples, Life Is Lonely, Watch This Drive

Track List:

1.      Exposed

2.      Don’t Rely On Anyone

3.      Samples

4.      Salvation

5.      Valium

6.      Pushing Providence

7.      Adam

8.      Life Is Lonely

9.      The Fool

10.  Miranda And the Tempest

11.  Close Your Eyes

12.  Don’t Rely On Anyone (Acoustic)

13.  Watch This Drive (DEMO)

14.  Salvation (Impending death remix)

15.  Exposed (In the park remix)

Website (s): www.esoterica1.com, www.bielerbros.com