With The Atomized Dream being the band’s fourth album in five years, Canvas Solaris has wasted no time in chalking up a respetable discography of prog-infused instrumental metal. Since last years Cortical Tectonics there has been some drastic changes: founding members Nathan Sapp and Hunter Ginn (playing guitar and drums respectively) have been joined by new bassist Gael Pirlot, guitarist Chris Rushing, and keyboardist Donnie Smith. However, the new members have not drastically changed Canvas Solaris’s sound; Nathan Sapp was already in the habit of recording multiple guitar parts, and keyboards and synthesizers were always an element of Canvas Solaris’s music, though on previous albums they were used mainly used for atmosphere while now Donnie Smith has expanded their scope and uses keys for melodic passages.

“The Binaural Beat” is the first song, the album’s non-metal track (on first listen it made me think they’d abandoned metal altogether), and one of the best songs Canvas Solaris has written. Centered around a handful of similar-sounding clean guitar riffs, the song joyously ebbs and flows between the lone guitar and vibrant explosions of sound and solos. The metal does appear for the next 7 tracks, but the feeling of joy remains; The Atomized Dream is music made by people who love making music and it’s purpose seems to be to express that love. Though there are plenty of the weirdly rhythmed riffs that are expected of Canvas Solaris, with the exception of the unpredictable shredding of “Solar Droid”, the album is very warm and pleasing to the ear. And it keep this joyous feeling all the way through a song like “The Unknowable and Defeating Glow” that travels through a melancholic opening, sections of borderline noise in the middle, and a finale that sounds like the boss music of a video game).

Canvas Solaris have released a unique instrumental metal album and once again shown their ability to use tricksy musicianship to craft deep and engrossing atmospheres as well as rewarding songs (each one on here has at least one part that sinks its teeth in and makes my skin all tingly).

- Jeff Mcquiggan