For a band that titled its first LP Farmer’s Almanac, East Of The Wall offers little to fans of predictability. The group’s catalog is a slap in the face to any would-be prognosticator. Each album has varied wildly in identity and scope. The debut was a purely instrumental sojourn that ranged from majestic to frantic. Sophomore release Ressentiment added vocals and an increased focus on aggression and dissonance. Tertiary album The Apologist split the difference and garnered widespread acclaim in doing so.

Now East Of The Wall have released Redaction Artifacts, perhaps the most dense record the band has yet created. Although the band has upped the intensity in scope and musicianship, Redaction Artifacts may be most immediately rewarding to the casual listener. In part this accessibility is due to the confidence of band’s new melodic vocalist/guitarist Greg Kuter, as well as the growth of screamed vocalist/bassist Chis Alfano (formerly screams and guitar on previous releases). Particularly impactful is the melodic interplay of Kuter with guitarist/vocalist Matt Lupo, who has taken a more active role as a singer after having performed only a few parts on The Apologist. With each album East Of The Wall has upped its vocal game, but never before has the group succeeded so thoroughly.

What’s most impressive is that East Of The Wall has increased its immediacy without dumbing the music down. Redaction Artifacts sees the members pushing their playing and composition beyond past boundaries. New lead guitarist Ray Suhy is a brilliant addition, and drummer Seth Rheam turns in his most inspired performance to date. East Of The Wall’s guitar acrobatics remain as creative as ever, and the signature bass growl thunders and weaves through the mix. Redaction Artifacts retains the band’s usual powerful yet natural recording fidelity, devoid of drum samples, auto-tune, and brick wall compression.

Redaction Artifacts was tracked by Eric Rachel (Municipal Waste, God Forbid, Burnt By The Sun, Skid Row) at Trax East and Todd Hutchinsen (Zud, The Baltic Sea) at Acadia Recording, and was mixed by Eric Rachel at Trax East. It will be released October 29th via Translation Loss. Vinyl licensed in the US by Science Of Silence.