So why is this? Its probable the most valid reason is that the best bands of said genre are all on, or are connected to American based record label Hydrahead, who until recently have been very independent and not been getting much recognition. But, rising out of Neurosis and Eyehategod sludgecore they soon created interest, which only about a year ago really reached our shores. And this is probably why Bossk are the first successful British band of this genre I’ve heard, as we’ve only just had the chance to embrace the great innovators of post-metal. And my, did they embrace them.

In this 2 track, 2 disc E.P, complete with snazzy DVD case, Bossk have not only taken the best bits from bands such as Isis, Pelican, Red Sparrows and Old Man Gloom, but they’ve also taken in some of the best of post-rock including Mono and Explosions in the Sky. This type of progressive innovation is very encouraging to see, particularly in such a young band. The Kent based 5-piece are a mostly instrumental band who’re making highly inspired, highly intelligent music of its genre, and from this you can tell what potential they have.

The first disc, simply titled ‘I’ is a standard look at post-metal as a whole in all of 16 minutes. With a trademark building intro, this fly’s full pelt into a sea of heavy, downtrodden riffs, intricate guitar sounds and fills, odd time signatures, soundscapes and Isis’s famous emphasis on the snare drum. This really is a complete, flawless song, rich with textures and influences from the best, and leaves a warm feeling, but with an ambiguous ending asking, “Where will they go next?”

The answer lies in disc two, or ‘II’. Whereas ‘I’ was a fantastic representation of post-metal and its constant desire to weave in and out of laid-back sounds to heavy, heavy riffs, ‘II’ does that, but goes even further, by the use of even bigger sounds and less obvious influences. Starting off with a hypnotic relationship between a very strange guitar sound and high-pitched, repeated bass line, slowly this builds, along with gongs and symbols, and sounds very much like a post-rock, indie band, like say, Jenniferever, took over recording on the second track. Slowly, it gets darker, until what we have here, is an epic journey through both progressive and metal music, colliding into each other. Alarm bells start ringing when more textured; delay-pedal ridden guitar sounds suddenly fall into a Deftones Esq. bridge. Suddenly, we’re caught into a very paranoid soundscape, slowly building, reminiscent of the great Tool themselves. And then it hits, we’re lost in a maze of heavy-metal meets, post-rock with a helping of progressive for good measure, and this song continues to catch you out and surprise right until the song’s vocal ridden screamed peak, and then comedown end.

There’s so much to hear here that to try and do it in one listen would be an injustice. With this track, Bossk have taken one step back from post-metal, picked up their other, less obvious influences like Deftones, Tool and Mono, and then taken, dare I say it, three steps ahead. A very ambitious and pretentious statement this may be, but what Bossk seem to be creating here is the clues to what can only be described as “post-post-metal”. But this is ambitious music and very much a step in the right direction for predicting and helps create where the future of the genre could well be headed, and if so, there’s still plenty life left in it. Bossk’s inventive and quite clearly very liberated way of writing their music is really refreshing to hear, like their fairly subtle but very clever way of resisting vocals right until the peak of the whole record, showing they have control and selection over their music, with their desire to highlight appropriate moments with just instruments or vocals.

And there really is very little wrong with this record. It does everything you hope and want it to, with fantastic vigour and slow-burning energy; Bossk could quite easily cut their losses and just end it here. But, here’s hoping they have much more in store for the future, and this, is just the beginning.

Adam Turner-Heffer