Although hints of growled dirty vocals sometimes form an undercurrent to the proceedings and even push to the forefront, The Contortionist seems detached from the Deathcore/Death Metal proponents with which it is often grouped. Based on its third full album, last year’s atmospheric and powerful Language, the Indianapolis quintet clearly shares more sonic and philosophical qualities with the Progressive Metal movement, based on the Jazz-like textures emanating from guitarists Robby Baca and Cameron Maynard and keyboardist Eric Guenther.
The Contortionist was formed in 2007 by Baca, his drumming brother Joey, Maynard, bassist Christopher Tilley and frontman Jake Morris; the latter left the following year, replaced on vocals first by Dave Hoffman, then by keyboardist Jonathan Carpenter. On the band’s first two albums, 2010’s Exoplanet and 2012’s Intrinsic, Carpenter’s dirty vocals were more pervasive, which likely resulted in The Contortionist’s alignment with Deathcore, although the band’s musical accompaniment seems to have remained relatively unchanged over the course of their six releases (three full length albums, three EPs).
The biggest shifts for The Contortionist have taken place in the last two years, with the 2013 departure of Carpenter, who left to concentrate on his home life with his wife and child, and the exit of bassist Tilley, who had become burned out on the touring grind. Last Chance to Reason vocalist Mike Lessard was installed on an interim basis in 2013 and was the vocalist for Language; within months, he accepted the band’s offer of permanent membership. Scale the Summit bassist Jordan Eberhardt took over in 2014 (keyboardist Guenther was hired last year as well), just prior to Language’s release.
Metal fans looking for precision, virtuosity, complexity and volume will not be disappointed with The Contortionist, but it’s worth noting that two of Robby Baca’s avowed influences are Allan Holdsworth and Pat Metheny, two of Jazz/Fusion’s biggest names. Luckily for more extreme fans, Between the Buried and Me and Dream Theater also figure pretty prominently in the mix. Maybe that kind of sonic shape-bending is why they named themselves The Contortionist in the first place.
THE CONTORTIONIST plays at Thompson House Saturday, Feb. 28. Find tickets/more info here .
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2015.