As guitarist and vocalist with progressive metal band Obsidian Tide, Oz Avneya is no stranger to crushing riffs and complex time signatures, but on his solo debut ‘Road To I’, the Israeli musician stretches his musical boundaries just a little further. The occasional nods to melodic death metal within his band’s work sometimes take a bigger role here, but to balance out any pure aggression, this album also explores a couple of far more interesting musical avenues. When not cranking the riffs, Avneya can be found teasing the listener with elements of world music, and there’s also a much bigger concession to melodic prog.

For those whom are approaching this for some enjoyable heavier elements, ‘Proxima B’ is likely to be an instant stand out. Following a few atmospheric notes, Avneya breaks into an impressively aggressive arrangement where pneumatic drums are joined by intense, jagged guitar lines, fusing prog metal and hardcore. There are moments here where the guitar tones resemble Paradis – still a new fixture on the metal scene at the time of this release – and others where they shift from metalcore into more of a traditional prog metal sphere, like experiencing the heaviest moments from Dream Theater’s ‘Awake’ – only heavier. There’s nothing safe or merely recycled about this, however; Avneya balances the heavier moments with a melodic metal chorus that would make Devin Townsend raise his eyebrows, before taking everything further off piste via clean toned lead guitar breaks and a soprano vocal. ‘Momentary Blink’ also shares an impressive heaviness, only this time delving further into the realms of “trad” prog metal, firstly by opening the track with a Symphony X injected riff or two, but then latching onto a thrash based groove that allows the guitar to really attack. At the point where it feels as if the melody might feel a little too settled, the thrashier elements give way to an off-kilter groove which, again, clings onto a very dirty tone, but suggests there might be something more interesting beneath the surface noise. And on that score, Avneya does not disappoint. He contrasts the extreme heaviness with a few lead guitars that lurch forth with slightly more of a jazz influence before adding an unexpected clean vocal. The juxtaposition of heaviness and melody is jarring at first, but in time, everything sounds really cool, and the clean vocal actually plays a vital role in making the end result accessible. There are few that would be so bold – again, Townsend certainly springs to mind – but in taking the sounds of his own Obsidian Tide a step further, Oz should consider this a great achievement.

Heavier still, ‘Seeds of Immortality’ blends prog metal elements with intense death metal vocals, creating something that will immediately impress or upset. The guttural sounds are balanced out by a few interesting keyboard melodies in places, but this certainly won’t be enough to win over the death metal averse. Luckily, this track also comes with a brilliantly melodic chorus where clean vocals owe a little more to the likes of Riverside and an absolutely cracking lead guitar break where the rock elements are delivered with a smooth, almost bluesy tone. In terms of bringing the two extremes of the Avneya sound together, it’s certainly a success, but it’s definitely the kind of track that’ll split opinion. The melodic elements are sidelined for ‘Ethics We Choose To Omit’ where Oz appears to have absorbed bits of Devin Townsend’s ‘Deconstruction’ and regurgitated the noisier elements against a huge chugger of a riff, but elsewhere, ‘Conjourers of Conformity’ offers a touch more balance when blending a prog metal chug and an almost Eastern inspired melody brilliantly. There are flickers of a tune that might remind some of Iron Maiden’s ‘Powerslave’ era – arguably the birth of prog metal – but Avneya adds plenty of his own ideas, ranging from a perfectly pitched lead guitar break where the Eastern melody is tempered with a bluesy lilt, to the juxtaposition of clean riffs against an absolutely filthy backdrop. In terms of guitar instrumental workouts, there’s a strong influence from the late 80s shredfests from Marty Friedman et al, but shared with a contemporary tone that fits naturally with the even more aggressive elements present on this album.

Although Avneya’s very technical brand of heaviness is impressive, it’s when approaching a much broader melody or three that this album really comes into its own. ‘Upon The Shores of The Afterlife’ fills a couple of minutes with a finely played Arabic melody, which augmented by a few rock drums and the occasional deeper tone actually reaches into a world of progressive metal that shares similarities with bands like Riverside and Gazpacho, but could also be compared a little more broadly to the latter work of Porcupine Tree. Traces of a PT influence can also be found within the DNA of the album’s standout track, ‘Emotionally Attached’, a subtle prog workout where sedate rhythms and jazz toned guitars underscore a high toned vocal that absolutely reinforces the fragility of the performance. Since this album shines a hefty light upon some particularly aggressive vocal arrangements, this acts as a welcome reminder that Oz is an equally gifted melodic performer. Although the strings here are a little underplayed, a few listens to this number show how they still bring a vital colourant, adding depth and sadness to a rather understated piece. At the tail end of this record, you’ll find another mellow cut, ‘Ima Sheli’, which is stands out as being entirely different to the bulk of an already enjoyable disc. Acoustic lines weave an Arabic inspired melody, and a live in the studio production sound really brings Oz’s busy playing to life. There are audible sounds of fingers sliding upon frets; an echoing tone in places that evokes a man playing alone in an otherwise empty room, and once the world music tones really kick in at the track’s end, an unexpected mix of Steve Hackett, Djabe and Mike Oldfield will certainly impress the musically adventurous.

Granted, Avneya’s ‘Road To I’ sometimes feels more concerned with complex riffs and shifting moods than easy hooks, but if you can find a way in on a musical level, it provides a varied listening experience that, more often than not, feels genuinely progressive. There are times when it feels like three or four distinctly different musical ideas that have been made to co-exist – the jump between the heavier moments of something like ‘Momentary Blink’ and the thoughtful sounds of ‘Ima Sheli’ is absolutely huge, for example – but for the more broad minded prog metal fan, this is a record that’s definitely going to impress.

August/September 2024