Ostraca is a screamo and post-metal band from Richmond, Va., with a few projects under its belt from 2015 onwards. The band is extremely consistent with its compositions. The music isn’t for everyone, especially with the screamed vocals and the loud metal-inspired instrumentation. But if you tough out the sonic storm, there’s something beautiful about the underlying melodies contrasting with the abrasiveness.
The band’s latest EP, “Eventualities,” was released on April 18. “Eventualities” pushes the melodic nature of the band even further with the musical mountains and valleys of tension and release.
The EP begins with the lead single “Song for a Closed Door,” which could be the definition of post-metal with its foreboding and bleak intro building up into a calmer sound. The low mixing of the cymbals here was a good choice. There’s a beautiful guitar melody later on that’s reminiscent of both the blackgaze band A Rose Dying in the Rain and the melodic portion of the first half of “The Exile Part I – The Razor’s Edge” by deathcore band Slice the Cake.
The screamo portion of the song kicks off with guitar amp feedback and snare rolls. The snare sounds a bit tight, but that was probably a stylistic choice.
There’s then another tension-and-release combo. This time, the softer melodies from before expand with this powerful melodic electric guitar tremolo. There are electronic-like noises at the end on top of the guitar’s sonic decay. It’s eerie and unnerving, but also really cool to hear what sounds like artificial disc rot over the instrumentation.
“Compromise” does not compromise at all at first with its harsh and abrasive instrumentation right out of the gate. The song does get less extreme over time, but the snare rolls persist over a 2000s rock-like melodic guitar phrase. Instead of cleanly sung vocals like most rock songs, however, these lyrics are screamed. The guitar then gets fuzzier instead of clearing up. The song ends with this metallic stringed guitar sound with the amp off.
The next song in the EP is “Esau.” The name Esau could be referencing a Biblical character from the Book of Genesis who is mostly known for being the brother of Jacob and having his birthright taken from him in exchange for a bowl of red stew.
The choice of naming a song after this Biblical character is certainly interesting. If the lyrics were more discernible instead of being screamed, the reason for this name would probably make more sense.
The song does more tension and release, building up for catharsis and then fizzling out again for the sake of balance. At times, the softer parts feel like blackgaze. The song ends abruptly on a heavy part, hinting that the song could have been extended, but they chose to cut the song short.
The final song, “So Do I,” begins with harmonious guitar feedback, which sounds like a contradiction until you actually listen to it. It’s unclear how they were able to pull such a sound off, but it’s still really cool. The song feels a bit softer than the other songs, but that’s not an issue. It’s the final song, so naturally things would wind down around this part of the track list.
Ostraca is probably an acquired taste for most people. Although it was incredibly difficult to understand the lyrics due to the screamed vocals, the music itself was solid and emotive as is usual with this band. I’m looking forward to Ostraca’s next sonic endeavor.
Rating: 3.75/5