Country: Spain
- Genre: Progressive Metal
- For fans of: Tool, Leprous, Porcupine Tree
slq – Crown Shyness
slq is the personal project of César Parra Rojas and “Crown Shyness” is his debut. For the recording, though, he didn’t stay alone, since joining him are Baard Kolstad of Leprous on drums, Diego Tejeida of Haken/Temic on keyboards and Nate Navarro on bass, known for his collaborations with Devin Townsend and Porcupine Tree.
From the start it is clear that Tool has influenced the sound quite a bit, mainly in the riffs and drums. At the same time, the musicians involved bring elements from Leprous, Haken and Porcupine Tree. The result, however, does not yet have a clear identity. There are quite a few good ideas, but the album seems to still be searching for where it wants to go.
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Where “Crown Shyness” wins is in the small moments. “A Chasm” stands out with an unexpected salsa passage and very nice keyboards, while on “A Deception” a bluesy instrumental part appears with a strong solo. Tejeida does excellent work on the keys and Kolstad brings the strange rhythmic shifts you expect from a drummer of his calibre.
The biggest problem lies in the vocals. Rojas has ideas for the melodies, but the execution often lacks the power and steadiness needed. This becomes more pronounced because the vocals sit quite far forward in the production.
And while the musicians are undeniably capable, several tracks seem to move from idea to idea without ending up anywhere specific. When the four musicians really lock in, though, the result is much better. “A Return” is a characteristic example, with nice guitar, strong drumming and beautiful keys.
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“Crown Shyness” therefore has good elements and plenty of room to evolve, but for now the strong moments get lost within an album that hasn’t yet found its absolute balance.
