Review Summary: The members of Orbs have crafted a progressive album that is sure to be one of the best releases of the year.
So, Asleep Next to Science has been leaked for over a year, diminishing the potential hype around the official release, but is this album honestly good enough to have any hype about it justified? The answer to this is a definite yes. Like almost anyone who knows about this band, I found out about Orbs through Between the Buried and Me, but was later pleased to find that Adam Fisher of Fear Before supplies the vocals for the band. So, what is the music like?
The only two possible ways I have to describe it are 1) imagine if Fear Before covered The Mars Volta or 2) what you felt like the follow up to The Always Open Mouth
should have sounded like. One question that was on my mind before listening to the album in full was how would Adam Fisher do as a lead vocalist as opposed to back up with David Marion? Not surprisingly, he does a great job, mixing his typical singing styles with his admirable screaming ability, even throwing in a lower vocal style in the song "Lost At Sea." The lyrical content relates to the album title with lines such as "you can't fight biology" and "i bet this makes sense to the physicist, to me it's a whole lot of nonsense."
Instrumentally, it is very complementary of the vocal performance given by Fisher. Dan Briggs as a guitarist in a band instead of a bass player is a confusing idea, but he does a fine job of creating leads that illustrate an atmosphere that is both catchy and only adds to the ambiance created by keyboardist Ashley Ellyllon of Cradle of Filth and Abigail Williams. She changes between piano and synth patches that take the lead at times and become some of the most memorable parts of the album. The drums are in the same style as on Fear Before's self titled album. While not flashy or necessarily technical, they fit in with the music and don't create any awkward sections.
Overall, the album is a fun listen with the only obvious faults being that the longer songs might throw off those who are not fans of songs longer than 6 minutes. Definitely for fans of The Mars Volta and Fear Before.
