Instrumental music’s always been close to my heart in one way or the other. I remember getting into some off-kilter prog noodling somewhere around fifteen to twenty years ago initially, and while I can’t really remember the artists themselves for the life of me, I do recall it shifted my perspectives quite a bit, about how things could be approached. After all, we are being told things are the way they are because they for some reason have to be, and there’s very little questioning of the status quo until we come across something ‘not right’ by ourselves (that obviously applies to literally everything in life, but for now let’s keep it on music, please and thank you). I reckon this early dive also allowed me to adjust and later explore plenty of other genres as well, where the lack of an actual human voice is more standard than it is odd. Today however, we are heading firmly towards those original discoveries of mine.
Coyote Man is an instrumental progressive metal power trio from Chicago, Illinois, who have been going at it together since early 2000’s, though forming the band formally only in 2015. Having put out a full-length and a handful of singles and some EPs since then, the trio’s second album Prosthetic Memories will see the light of day on August 14, a.k.a tomorrow. But today, we will take a head start and present to you the album in its glorious entirety, so put on your groovy pants and fast glasses and proceed to hit play from below;
While Coyote Man is an entirely new acquaintance to me, they are most certainly a welcome one as such. When I listened to the preview track, it took approximately a nanosecond to decide to cover this, and since that decision, I’ve been enjoying my time with the record while reminiscing the mentioned days of yore. I’m not a nostalgic person in the least, but some similar shivers certainly traveled down my spine while digging into Prosthetic Memories.
The first thing that springs to mind when going through all of it, is how fun the band sounds. That isn’t to say it couldn’t be taken seriously or that there would be anything silly on it, but it sounds exactly the kind of abstract escapade inherent to the good kind of prog. That said, the emphasis is still on metal and the drive it brings to the table, as is apparent on tracks like “Zealotry” and “War Hatchet”, while the likes of “Holographic Heirloom” and “Faith In A Burning Room” (the latter of which features something extra special, mind you) underline the aforementioned tendencies. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it whimsical since Coyote Man sounds and seems intentionally way more hard-hitting and visceral than that, but there’s certainly a lot of dumb smiles and good vibes to be found in there.
‘Our aim is to make the listener more susceptible to the complexities of their own feelings and breathe new life into the established paradigms of metal music.’
The above quote is lifted from the press release, and to me, it sounds like the mission was accomplished. Prosthetic Memories packs an ungodly amount of punch yet breathes freely throughout the seven songs, equally relying to both repetition and adventurous twists, whichever suits the purpose at any given time the most. It is extremely obvious the band has honed their craft for as long as they have, and Prosthetic Memories is certainly Coyote Man in their most potent and acute form thus far. It’s pretty cool to hear someone surpass their own ambitions.
As said, Prosthetic Memories is out tomorrow, and you can order the album from Coyote Man‘s Bandcamp, as well as follow them on Instagram and Facebook. Whatever you do, remember to support independent artists.
Band photo by Vanessa Valadez
