I was first introduced to Charlotte, NC, progressive metal band Nospūn at ProgPower last year, and I was blown away by their live performance and their incredible debut album, “Opus.” Rewind 11 years, and they were going by the name Ozai and recorded 5 songs with a heavier feel than their debut as Nospūn. They apparently were never happy with these recordings, and I don’t know how many people actually heard them at the time. Regardless, while Nospūn works on their eagerly awaited sophomore album, they have whetted our appetite with a “from the ground up” rerecording of all of these songs, breathing new life into them and allowing them to be heard likely for the first time for most, but in a way the band is happy with.

You definitely get the trademark creativity and technicality of the band, but more aggressive and overall heavier than “Opus.” Unlike “Opus,” this is not a concept album, with each song standing on its own, and the band has made it clear this EP is not an indication of the new album’s direction. Soundwise, it hearkens back to a lot of the heavier djenty experimental prog from when these songs were written. TesseracT, Leprous, Haken all come to mind, yet the songs have that familiar Nospūn feel to them. Phillip Rich adds extreme vocals to complement his soaring melodic cleans, and the guitar, bass, drums, and occasional keys are just fantastic. Second track “The Effervescent Power” is an easy favorite, with its earworm chorus, killer guitar solos, and a prog sensibility marrying both heavy and melodic. Fact is, each of the 5 songs here are great, from the ominous and djent opening in “Life, the Universe, and Everything” that quickly introduces you to the prog death side of Nospūn, to the infectious melodies throughout “Out with a Bang,” the bombastic feel of heaviest track “Mecca,” or the cinematic feel of closer “Jormungand.”

This is a great holdover until the new album comes out, but I would personally love to hear more of these influences continue, as it shows that these guys can do the heavy prog thing very well. And even if not, this EP is deserving of your auditory attention!

Original Instagram review