Mutiny On The Bounty – Trials.

Too often, bands like Mutiny On The Bounty get tagged as math metal but there is a lot more to them that genre. Their second album Trials is brimming with astounding musicianship. The guitar lines and drum patterns at times are like endless jazz jams.

Mutiny On The Bounty formed in 2004 in Eschington, Luxembourg and already have 400 live shows under their belts, supporting acts as diverse as Kings Of Leon, Franz Ferdinand and Coheed And Cambria to name but a few. Trials will be released in the UK  via Best Before Records on Sept. 9th 2012 and features a crystal clear production by Matt Bayles who has previously worked with Mastodon and Pearl Jam. As well as the standard cd format, Trials will be available in white or transparent vinyl  via the band or Redfield Records, Mutiny On The Bounty’s European distributor.

Trials’ consists of just under 50 minutes of challenging music but is well worth the time and effort so as to appreciate its ingenuity. Immediate comparisons were of At The Drive In, Far, Biffy Clyro and Muse but something different is heard on each play of the album.

Personal highlights are the 5  instrumentals on Trials. Album opener The Long Loud Silence is a minute’s worth of almost drum and bass rhythms as the guitars sweep in and go straight into second track North Korea. It begins with manic guitar lines over huge riffs which go into laid back jazz like guitars. The drum work by Falcon is on a par with that of Brann Dailor from Mastodon as a speed metal segment reverts back to the beginning guitar riff to end the song. Third instrumental Shadow Figures is almost 2 minutes of gently strummed chords over an ambient backing. Fourth instrumental Myanmar has a fast twin guitar intro as  huge riffs compete with fluent guitar leads as yet more stunning time changes end it. Fifth and final  instrumental is album closer Mapping The Universe. The intro brings to mind vintage Mike Oldfield followed by shredding guitar work. At 3 minutes in the tempo changes as crashing riffs and clean picking guitars precede a tour de force finish.

Also worthy of mention is Modern Day Robbery with it’s noodling guitar lines, subdued backing riffs with a stunning instrumental segment just before the 3 minute mark. For The Men Who Had Everything is akin to classic At The Drive In with it’s staccato drums and guitars over a very Cedric Bixler-Zavala vocal.

To conclude, Trials is a triumph for Mutiny On The Bounty on many levels and they have written and recorded 12 songs of varying styles.

Mutiny On The Bounty band line up :-

Pzey – Guitars/backing vocals.

Falcon – Drums/lead vocals.

Tchiggy – Bass/backing vocals.

Clem – Guitars.

Trials album track listing :-

The Long Loud Silence.

North Korea.

Artifacts.

Modern Day Robbery.

Candies.

Shadow Figures.

Myanmar.

Fiction.

Statues.

For The Men Who Had Everything.

Shifting Paradigms.

Mapping The Universe.

I award Trials 9/10.