3 out of 5

Label: Skull Fracture Records

Produced by: Keith D

Do all progressive metal tracks, or anything called an “epic” need to be 8 minutes long? No, not at all. …But sometimes it helps.

There are groups that’ve absolutely streamlined this game beautifully: Mastodon, Baroness; bands who’ve maybe curbed the “heavy” in their metal slightly, but can still deliver very distilled experiences that are technical as all hell, rock the heck out, but somehow also play to relatively mainstream audiences.

Arctic Sleep are by no means claiming to be Mastodon or Baroness, but their heavy metal logos and penchant for colorful, fantasy artwork on their albums has me assuming that’s going to be the direction they take, especially when they build up to some amazing chugga-chugga and then soloing on the conclusion to the A-side of this 7″, ‘Blade Through Your Heart.’ I’m projecting, though: taking the band on their own terms, this is shoegaze and the metal side of grunge: it’s Shiner and Deftones.

In all cases, though, the music is lacking a bit of that epicness: this stuff sounds good and rocks, but the save-the-princess lyrics are a bit generic, and the riffs and sound all nibble at some of the bands I’ve mentioned, though without some more defining features to set Arctic Sleep apart.

Done as a soundtrack to the By The Horns comic, the lyrics can maybe get a pass as trying to not be too specific to the book, but also fit within the band’s general shtick.