There’s plenty to like in Source’s new album,Emergence: the gritty riffs, the soothing vocals, the knotted rhythms. It’s their fourth record, but they’ll still find it tricky to shake the comparisons to prog luminaries Tool and Opeth. Shades of the former snake their way in through the floating guitar riffs, while for the latter, vocalist Benjamin Gleason sounds like Mikael Åkerfeldt – but that’s no bad thing. Dig deeper and this is a band who have just about enough to stand out on their own; Vesica (The Path In) benefits from some stinging bass from the hands of Pascal Faurie, while the middle salvo of A Path Out is a prog metal trip. The group, meanwhile, are completed by drummer Justin Mirarck, the welloiled engine keeping the momentum flowing. With songs melancholic and rarely changing gear, it risks getting stuck in metal mud, so there are some welcome detours in Emergence’s second half. Betrayal is a swooning vocal/ keyboard ditty, while Snoodle Goo and Goose Noodle serve up some eccentric instrumental sidesteps before the 10-minute finale Mandala. Source aren’t visiting any new sonic realms, but this is a useful addition to prog metal’s broader canon.
CC