When you say instrumental rock or instrumental metal to people who know what that entails, you either get an excited look, almost frenetic or an eye roll so dramatic that you swear that person will be able to see the back of their head. It’s no secret that the genre has been riddled, for many years, (arguably still is) with a large amount of bands who are rehashing copies of copies. So then of course, it always comes with a fair dose of skepticism when you’re recommended something as being more than simply good. Believe me though, Challenger Deep are probably the hottest thing in this corner and I need no further proof than Point of No Return. This album can easily be the poster child of the modern incarnation of this corner of music.
It’s been a while since I’ve discovered the band and truth be told, I probably would not have had the chance to talk about this record without prior acquaintance. I’m quite certain it would’ve flown under my radar for a good amount of time. As I was delving into The Stuff of Legends, I became quickly enamored with its highly energetic, upbeat, and groovy sound. It’s fun, engaging, and to the point – no fluff, no nonsense. It’s a beautifully curated and adroitly articulated collection of ideas, which while diverse, manage to come together seamlessly. Point of No Return takes it all a few steps further and tops it off with extra goodness and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Point of No Return takes inspiration from a lot of the great things that have been going on over the course of the past decade in the rock/metal area. Especially more from metal compared to its predecessor and the payoff for that is outstanding. That part of the charm is led by “Cruelty of the Fangs”, which is probably one of the most fire bangers I’ve heard this year and in recent memory. It just goes balls to the wall with gorgeous rolling riffs reminiscent of early 2010’s metalcore, interspersed with a lush, melodic chorus with a singular goal in mind – to give you the best time ever. I’ve listened to this song so many times on repeat that I’m honestly surprised I don’t hate it yet due to oversaturation. I’ll definitely push my luck and listen to it until I hate it, forget about it, remember it, then rinse and repeat. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t call out in that same breath “Give Them Teeth” and “Soul Stone” as well, they also lean deftly into this whole area.
It is rather neat how the album slowly makes its way up to that point, because the aforementioned are in the latter half. Until then we have a bunch of songs, which hearken more closely to The Stuff of Legends, with their signature shimmering demeanor. You can just feel every bit bristling with joy and power. It also becomes more obvious once you check out the music videos made for a lot of the songs off of Point of No Return. The Challenger Deep crew definitely know how to live it up and it’s especially obvious with their more tongue in cheek approaches in “Zero to Midnight” and “Highly Dubious”. Across the first half of the record a good part of this lively aspect is owed, I feel, to taking cues from math rock and blending that with the excessively melody driven approach to modern prog. It’s a stylistic choice I am behind all the way.
Challenger Deep don’t seem to be in the business of attempting to reinvent fire, even though they carry copious amounts of it in their tunes. What I do think though, is that their take on this heavily personalized blend of modern prog is outstandingly fresh and that’s not just by the genre’s standards. Point of No Return really feels like an oasis in the desert. Every sip I take from it is a sweet caress for my parched insides.
In all fairness, I could just keep rambling about every little thing I love about this album. I would be hard pressed to find any actual flaws. It strikes me as a quintessential example of how records like this should be made. I don’t really have anything significant to add, other than the fact that Challenger Deep‘s Point of No Return is hands down one of the best albums I’ve heard this year and I cannot recommend it enough. Listen to it yesterday.
