By Murat Batmaz on May 8, 2005

Extol's previous two releases, Undeceived and especially Synergy, were amazing works of technical prog metal with death, black and thrash influences. They played extreme music with lots of harsh and clean vocals, quirky leads, phenomenal drumming, and used plenty of complex time signatures.

The Blueprint Dives differs from the band's predecessors quite a bit, and rightly so. Extol's former guitarists Christer Espevoll and Ole Burud, left the band and were replaced by the Ganglion duo, Tor Magne Glidje and Ole Halvard Sveen. This has caused a noticeable change in the band's sound; the music is relatively less complex, the songs are shorter, the guitars take a back seat providing rhythms rather than choppy riffs, and the bass comes forward stealing the show. However, the biggest difference is in Peter Espevoll's singing. More than half of this 53-minute disc features clean vocals. This time around the harsh, brutal screams are less prominent, but still make themselves heard on the heavier songs such as "Soul Deprived" with thunderous rhythm guitars, killer drumming and a fantastic bass solo; "In Reversal" where the guitars scream like sirens over Floydian atmospheres and obscure piano melodies buried deep down in the mix; or "The Things I Found" which is perhaps the most technical song reminiscent of the earlier albums - great guitar work with atonal sweeping and technical leads make this one of the heaviest songs on the album.

The slower songs tend to bring forth the vocal melodies as on "Pearl", the first single off of this disc (there's also a video of this song on the CD). Peter Espevoll delivers a hauntingly emotional track with lush piano and eerie cymbal work. This one is followed by "From the Everyday Mountain Top", a song defined by numerous breakdowns, acoustic guitars, a powerful guitar theme and ever-present clean-harsh vocals. Drummer David Husvik and bassist John Robert Mjaland give us an ethereal jazzy piano and bass concerto on "Another Adam's Escape", which is one of the most unique songs Extol have ever penned.

My favourite song, however, is the closing track "The Death Sedative". It's dark, it's grim, it's evil. The vocal style and cluttered atmosphere of this song could instantly be associated with Opeth during their Dan Swano-produced first two albums mixed with thick, unbreakable walls of sound on Devin Townsend's solo material. I've yet to read other reviews that praise this song (most people I've talked to are more fond of melodically convincing songs like "Gloria" and "Pearl" so far), but this one is easily the highlight for me.

There is also a nice bonus song on the album titled "Riding for a Fall". It doesn't really sound too different than the other song here, so it's much welcome. Never got into Extol because of their extreme musicality on their older releases? How about giving this one a listen? It may change your mind.

By Zikony on July 1, 2005

OK, so its obvious that Extol changed a lot since their last album, and basically toned down the 'metalness'. But that by no means makes this a bad album. I'll admit, it may take a little while to grow on you, especially if you are a fan of Extol's earlier works. But once it does grow on you, you will see a new world of beauty and brutality interwoven neatly together into their music. For one, the production on this album is the best out of all their albums. Technically, the songs are a lot more simpler than their older songs, but the production makes it seem just as brutal as it used to be, huge walls of sounds and textures. A good example of this would be the track "The Things I Found", which is full of simple riffs, but the song has this really eerie and sinister atmosphere, coupled with a raging wall of guitars, Peter's evil-ish screams, and beautiful chord progressions. With all these good things in the song, it only lacks the singing. This, for me, is the pinnacle of this album. The singing is very emotional and just awe-inspiring at times, like the chorus in "Void" and, my personal favorite song, "Another Adam's Escape". The interplay between Peter and Ole Halvard Sveen's vocals is just wonderful. It really takes what would otherwise be a mediocre album to new heights.

Probably my only gripe about this album is that it seems their Spirit-filled message has been watered down a bit, but not too much. I mean, you can still tell their on fire for Christ, just not quite as much as, say, on Undecieved, but it still there.

The first time I heard this cd i almost cried, thats how touching it was. For me, this album just has 'it'. There's something about the vocals, the atmosphere, the guitars, and composition of the songs that does for me emotionally what very few albums can.

I am a fan of Extol's earlier works, but i'd say its best to look at this album as a separate entity from those. Let it stand on its own and open up your mind. If you're a fan of progressive rock with great melodies and hooks, positive and hopeful messages, and great energy and atmosphere, go pick this up now and get ready for a ride you'll never forget.

TRACK  LISTING

Gloriana

Soul Deprived 

In Reversal

Pearl

From the Everyday Mountain Top

Another Adam's Escape

Things I Found

Lost in Dismay

Essence

Void

The Death Sedative