Albums•November 29, 2011•14,286 views

Engineer The Dregs

01. Scala Natura 02. The Iron Worker 03. Greenhorn 04. Tremors 05. Hollow Vessel 06. The Thinning Cynic 07. Big Black Smile 08. First Frost 09. Waves 10. Kings

2007 Black Market Activities

Our score 8

by Nick

8/21/2007

Listen up, I'm about to make a statement: Engineer is arguably the heaviest and most intense band in the current metal and hardcore scene. You'll notice that I went with the "arguably," mainly because dealing with absolutes tends to lead to journalist booby traps, but nevertheless, the statement carries considerable weight. Anyone who has had the pleasure of witnessing a live show, and thus waited the extra few minutes for the band to set up their wall of cabs to reap the benefits of being blasted by unforgiving walls of sound will most likely support me on this one. And with the release of The Dregs, Engineer's second full-length, they show absolutely no signs of relinquishing their perch atop the hardcore and metal world. For those unfamiliar with Engineer's style, the band blends the styles of Coalesce and Botch with a strong hardcore influence. Not quite hardcore, not quite metal, and certainly not metalcore by today's definitions, these guys have perfected the slice of the music scene occupied by like-sounding bands Achilles, Architect, and the Minor Times. Simply put, The Dregs is 10 unrelenting tracks of punishing musical bliss. While last year's Reproach put Engineer on the map after a few early splits and EPs, this will be the album that allows them to carve out a comfortable spot in the extreme music world. And the reason belongs entirely to songwriting. The Dregs showcases a natural songwriting progression for the band, and the disc emits a sense of maturity that they didn't quite have with Reproach's slightly one-dimensional approach. The Dregs certainly still sounds like Engineer, but their ability to inject small, but memorable touches of melody into otherwise hell-bent songs is much more prominent on this album. The ominous closing guitar work of "Greenhorn" and the bass-driven hooks of "First Frost" both provide excellent examples of this newly refined dimension of the band. So in that respect, The Dregs often resembles a faster Neurosis record, or something that isn't that far of a cry from the earlier days of Isis. The tracks are definitely more concise, but the intensity and the crushing heaviness are still there. And everything is wrapped up into a tight, 36 minute package held together by dark atmospherics, a quality that Engineer fans have probably come to expect. Bottom Line: Just like Engineer's 2006 release of Reproach, The Dregs is a record built upon a strong foundation of pure intensity. But The Dregs also represents a mature step forward for the band in songwriting, and their ability to maintain their trademark heaviness while adding melodic subtleties into the mix easily makes this record one of this year's best. I can't imagine a single person who calls themselves a hardcore and metal fan not getting into this record. Support these four dudes from Syracuse because they sure as hell deserve it.

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1st_ 8/21/2007 8:59:05 PM

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Engineer The Dregs

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