Sculptured - The Liminal Phase (2021)

Sculptured has always lived in the shadow of its twin. Having shared members with Agalloch, it could be said that this international progressive metal band was viewed as more of a side project for songwriter Don Anderson (and bassist Jason William Walton, for that matter), and it kind of was. Taking a back seat to Agalloch’s increasing popularity up until the band’s demise in 2016, Sculptured—Anderson’s main vehicle for self-expression—went into hibernation, but this wasn’t new. With an eight year gap between 2000’s Apollo Ends and the subsequent Embodiment, it’s no surprise that Sculptured would take over a decade to re-emerge, but Anderson works at his own pace.

Thirteen years after Embodiment and unencumbered by Agalloch’s presence, Sculptured returns to the spotlight with The Liminal Phase, and with a new album comes a new about-face in sound. From The Spear of the Lily is Aureoled‘s progressive take on dark melodic death metal, to Apollo Ends‘ even more adventurous departure from death metal, to Embodiment‘s embracing of atonal death metal’s tenets, Sculptured changing sound and adapting over time is a notable reality for this band, and The Liminal Phase is no different.

While its predecessors could be seen as progressive rock albums just as much as their metal counterparts, The Liminal Phase‘s more outright metalisms—driving double-bass drumming and big, chugging riffs, especially—reflect both a new era and a new lineup for this long-standing project. Now featuring newcomers Marius Sjøli (vocals) and Martti Hill (drums) to accompany returning member Andy Winter (keyboards) and the core lineup of Anderson and Walton, Anderson prefers to take a back seat to let his fellow bandmates flourish. Eschewing control, Sculptured’s primary songwriter prefers to let his band be a vehicle for his bandmates’ musical personalities and ideas, resulting in a duality of Sjøli’s calm, hushed voice and Hill’s powerful percussive presence. Walton’s own mixing, which gives The Liminal Phase a miasmic, larger-than-life quality, really drives the point home: Sculptured are talented individuals making memorable, complex music which sets itself aside from “prog metal'”s glut. Presenting a more human take on the style, Sculptured’s uniquely emotive new album transcends “prog” and positions itself as something truly progressive.