Upon hearing the name Eroica, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and so was a bit surprised to hear an energetic flow of heavy instrumental rock pouring from the speakers. The first listen of their debut album, Hisen the Architect, drew my full attention throughout the album. As it ended, I immediately played it again; yes, this is one of those albums that made me want to listen to it again right away. Not only was the music enjoyable, but the musicianship was just as good. Played by the trio of Ben Gram (guitars & effects), Zivi Krieger (bass, lights) and Ben Hoffman (drums, glockenspiel), the album has a rich and full sound and accurately played.

Straddling along the lines of heavy prog-rock and post-rock sounds, Eroica presents an interesting, though not unique, approach at composing intricate and complex pieces of music, filled with dynamics, energy and emotion. Their instrumental brand of rock is heavy and crispy; at times bringing in some post-rock-ish sounds or even a metal-ish attitude, the music seems to be always on the move, as if “looking” where to develop to. It’s not relentless, as there are moments in which the music slows down and gets calmer and even delicate. In the end there’s a good balance of the emotions and intensity the album delivers, making it a well equilibrated listening experience that sits well in every situation. The balance is also evident in the level of intricacy of the song structure and their various parts; there is movement from simpler patterns and rhythms to more complex and demanding and back again. There is also a good flow between the tracks even when there’s a significant change in the mood (as in the switch from track 4 to 5).

Hisen The Architect is a very impressive debut album by an up and coming band. It’s a great pleasure to listen to this album and I highly anticipate their future recording. To quote their myspace page: “Eroica aims to please your ears and take you for a ride on their inspirational and triumphant musical roller coaster…” I will attest to that.

- Assaf Vestin