Stealing Axion
Moments

Moments are what american band Stealing Axion are attempting to serve us, or maybe it is axioms they want to give us. Otherwise the band name feels a slight bit hypothetical to be honest, can you really steal an axion? They do have a striking cover artwork though and the liaison with InsideOut should be a guarantee for material of a good quality. Otherwise there is talk of a self financed debut EP that is said to have been giving a fair bit of buzz on the net when released, appreciated by fans and medias alike. At least that is what is being said by the label guys in the press information and as I haven’t found enough info to confirm or deny this I would have to trust what they say. The talk in this information is also of music being easily accessible while having a framework that is complex and detailed. That sounds familiar.

Which is why I Cmd+C and V this text from my review of The Safety Fire’s Grind the Ocean: Powerful, heavy, complex, aggressive, mellow, diverse, that are some words that can be said in description of this album. Complex melodic structures based in an extreme foundation with a vocalist both screaming out text lines and singing them, he is a decent vocalist not a brilliant one but decent. The sound and production of this album is very good and powerful, the music is as I said complex and is one that requires time to get to know. The good sound and maturity behind this album makes it feel very much like a quality product when looking at the soundscape and the likes. Just when looking at how well they have done in terms of the sound it is hard to tell that it is a debut album. The album can also be said to quite diverse over the eleven tracks that we have on this album. They are quite alike those bands with the main difference of one being British and the other one American, for instance they both have great looking album covers. There are a few differences though, The Safety Fire is a bit heavier and diverse and the album is shorter.

With these differences I think we can describe the brits as slightly better than the americans in this case, but that does not mean that Stealing Axion isn’t good. I think that they are a very good and powerful band. Their music is complex and exciting but they have a major flaw: this album is one hour and sixteen minutes long and that is almost always a playing time that is way too long. The consequence of this is that you sort of miss the good stuff because there is just too much of it which makes you downplay the quality of the thing. Not only does it take long to get to know the songs, they also do play for close to an eternity as well. That is a shame because if you look at the rest, this album is bloody excellent. It is well produced, the sound is perfect, the dynamics are great, the songs are well written and there are no major flaws. But you get too much of it and you start looking elsewhere, for something that gives an instant reward and doesn’t hold you for so long a time that you tire of what you hear.

Remember though, that this is a debut album and flaws are more a rule than an exception on debut albums, Stealing Axion’s flaws are to make the album too long and not varying it enough to keep it interesting for that long playing time. Nevertheless, it is an impressive piece of work and if this is the debut, what can we expect in the future when they have gathered a bit more experience and knowhow? Something great I suppose.

Moments may not be as memorable as the title suggests but I believe it is a witness of the emergence of a band that will be very interesting in the future. I think this is a great band in the making and you will hear a lot of good things about them in the future.