Review
Vestiges
The Descent Of Man

The D.I.Y. ethic has long been a tremendous ideal that has always appealed to my often times ridiculous sensibilities, but what can I say besides that there is just something to a band putting their blood sweat and tears into a project from the first inkling of inspiration to breaking open that box of records from the record plant; the whole project seems more genuine or more “real” if you will, and not that all bands who do release records themselves are always doing it with DIY intentions more like a simple necessity. When the download for The Descent Of Man first started making the rounds on the world wide interwebz at the end of 2010, I immediately took notice of Vestiges due to the mammoth blast of devastating sound that the band conjures from their instruments and the brute force of the vocals that come screaming from my speakers.

Ambitious, epic, grand, etc are all adjectives that one could use when describing The Descent Of Man, and those would certainly not be hyperbolic fodder given by an over fawning critic; instead, though, I would be more apt to say that Vestiges seemingly lay down a challenging record full of bombast (check out the opening two minutes of “I” for a perfect example and the explosive “V” for another great example) that is a dynamic rollercoaster ride that hits on all of the touchstones that this emerging style (that being the sound in the vein of say Fall Of Efrafa, kind of like a more crusty Neurosis with a healthy does of screamo, but then again this is also a poor man’s synopsis of the sound that Vestiges has). This is certainly a polished effort as the band seamlessly transitions from song to song without batting an eyelash (something some bands never quite master) while still making each track a unique piece of music and the melodic aspects of the music fit perfectly with the crunch of the guitars and the pounding of the drums (the relentless drumming in “II” is awesome, so go there to hear what I am saying).

So many great records have been self released in the last few years, and, partially, this trend has something to do with how most record labels actually are clueless on how to operate in the age of digital file sharing, while the ones that do get it are overwhelmed with releases as it is; on the other hand, some artists do generally want to release records themselves, and I have personally benefitted from these situations by hearing great music and seeing amazing packaging. The Descent Of Man from Vestiges is no exception and there are still copies of this release available if you do take the download plunge and up immersing yourself in the record as much as I have (this honestly sounds awesome on a turntable), so do yourself the favor of checking this beast out or sleep on it and forever hate yourself for it.