4 out of 5

Label: self-released

Produced by: David Downham, David Dworanczyk (recorded by)

It’s very fascinating that elements of Dysrhythmia’s debut album would essentially be divvied up and given greater focus than on their two followups: the loose, jazzy vibe of No Interference, and the harsher rock / metal vibe of Pretest. Both sides get more equal play on Contradiction, which gives it something of a jam band feel – wandering between these approaches – but the reliance on shredding and momentum keeps this from being problematic, even asntricjs tickniver ten minutes, honestlt giving the disc somethinf of aj edge over its more exploratoey followups.  

The core sound of Dysrhythmia – staccato, harmonic notes and angular combinations with a heavy low-end groove – is very much here, and without pretension or avoidance of rocking out. However: No Interference was almost indistinctive; Pretest attacks with upfront bombast but had trouble maintaining that. Here, though, the group hits with a confidence in their style that maybe lacks “storytelling” – it’s a lot of riffing – but that straightforwardness makes it eminently repeatable, and there are for sure enough chops (alongside that aforementioned ‘sound’) to differentiate this instrumental act from others. 

A damned thrilling debut, and though I heard later albums first, it’s always awesome to find out that even debut incarnations of a band would’ve earned my fandom.