I will begin this review in a rather unconventional way, by disclaiming that "Only time Will Tell" is a fantastic album!
...and the only reason that I am starting my text like that is because of what I will write next...
While on one hand I totally understand the struggle that record label employees, band managers and music group members themselves have to undergo in order to find a good and original (hm...) way to draw the attention to their product when they operate within a very competitive environment (even saturated I would say), on the other hand I cannot help myself being nearly turned down when I read the following sentences from the album press release statement :
...The "new school of old school progressive death metal" is how CONTRARIAN is described; creating death metal that is authentically original with a natural memory and understanding of the old. Rooted in early 90's progressive death metal, but with an unrelenting forward-thinking approach...
I am not considering myself a great writer but If I would make an attempt to describe Contrarian's fourth album in a simple, direct and straightforward way, I would just mention that Only Time Will Tell can look any album from the progressive-era of Death or (any era) of Cynic straight in the eyes, without being retro or a shameless copy. Such is the quality and diversity of it that it can appeal to both the fans of traditional technical Death Metal and Deathcore at the same time. If it only had a better front cover we would be talking about an overall flawless release...
