Review: “Event Horizon” by The Myopia Condition

“I created the Event Horizon to reach the stars, but she’s gone much, much farther than that. She tore a hole in our universe, a gateway to another dimension. A dimension of pure chaos. Pure… evil. When she crossed over, she was just a ship. But when she came back… she was alive! Look at her, Miller. Isn’t she beautiful?” ~ Sam Neill

The creating of The Myopia Condition was a simple one. A melding of minds between Josh Gould (guitars) and Greg Glenn (drums) led to toying with ideas that had been in Gould’s head for some time. They soon brought in bassist Robert Fearey and the chemistry between them was immediately apparent. Hailing from Sh-Red Deer, Alberta, Canada,  The Myopia Condition cite influences range from Periphery and Meshuggah to Lamb of God and Oh Sleeper with vocalist Josiah Dyck and shred-meister Craig Mackenzie. rounding out a group who have found a groove to exploit and continue to refine their sound…

…This debut record has former guitarist David Luchenski’s lead guitars parts on it and was mixed and mastered by Diego Fernandez. The band formed in 2018 and have shared stages with no less than Nekrogoblikon, Fit For An Autopsy and Omniarch to name but a few and that experiance is something that bodes well for the record itself. As you might expect, “Event Horizon” is a space age introduction piece of epic grandeur that belongs on the soundtrack of the 1997 film itself. The stage is set perfectly for “Separation From Classification” which has an epic introduction itself before tearing away into the long grass with Dyck’s power house vocals that are the perfect accompaniment for the satisfying DJent fueled crunch of the riffs. After all, you can’t have the moon without the stars, can you? The track is lyrically inspiring, talking about finding your own voice, your own place in the crowd and not being a sheep, a true anthem for the people who stand apart. Musically it’s a tasteful piece, blast beats and jazzy leads and ends with a brutal crescendo. Stepping into Groove Metal territory with “Brainwashed“, a track that is a circle pit fans delight and rages with Deathcore esq vocals from Dyck, the album has as blistering a start as you could want from any record. It grabs your attention and keeps it from start to finish, offering up plenty to hit the pit with and plenty to raise a drink to. The haunting leads of “Afterlife” bring some of The Dillinger Escape Plan style chaos to the mix with a fast and loose pummeller of a track that grinds faces into the dirt while pointing the fickle finger of fate at those who let the dark side of humanity continue to have a place in society and simply says, your time is up…

…the second half of this rager of a record spin kicks into life with “Walk Me Home“, a track that continues the almost Mathcore riffs of the previous cut with a frenetic pace driven by a rhythm section that just won’t give the guitarists a break. Drummer Greg Glenn clearly has a Jazz background, his fills and odd time signatures showcase that aspect in his performance as well as delivering plenty of jackhammer footwork that would make Chad Blackwell of Impending Doom do a double take. The Lamb of God influence doesn’t appear until the chorus of “Song 9000“, at which point you can clearly hear the “New American Gospel” era of the Groove Metallers impact on this band. Up until that point the the technical nature of the riffs that are delivered with such spark and verve is mind blowing; Dyck’s vocal range is incredible when it comes to the uncleans. Death Metal roars and higher pitched harmonies are delivered while grinning psychotically from ear to ear; this is a band you want to hear more of and would love to hear a cover from. Brutal staccato riffage and Progressive Tech Metal leads with a side order of Black Metal drumming make up “Empty Room“, a song that screams “We will all die!” while punching you squarely in the face, in the best possible way before “Rotting Soul” uses a 2000’s era Metalcore guitar tone to shred flesh from bone. A battering ram of a track, it maintains that technical aspect in the riffs and by the end leaves you short of breath and wondering how the hell the band can keep up the pace and energy during their live show, the intensity is incredible. Saving single “Fighting Fables” to last; it’s the only one with any clean vocal parts and they’re kept short and sweet, sandwiched between throat shredding uncleans and enough DJent lead bounce to start a trampoline park. If you listen to one album this week that you haven’t heard before; make it this one. You won’t be disappointed. [8.5/10]

Track listing

1. Event Horizon
2. Separation From Classification
3. Brainwashed
4. AfterLife
5. Walk Me Home
6. Song 9000
7. Empty Room
8. Rotting Soul
9. Fighting Fables

“Event Horizon” by The Myopia Condition is out 16th October