I have to admit when I first popped the Geomancer disc in my stereo I had no idea what to expect. With song titles like "Ninja Forest" who knows what's going to come out of your speakers. As soon as the music began my fears were quickly washed away. This is band is really onto something here. They have amazing musicianship accompanied by awesome songwriting ability. To my dismay there are no vokills in this entire release, not even any spoken word. With all but one of the four songs clocking in at over 13 minutes you may think that this would get old, but it never does.

From the dueling lead guitars, to the odd time signatures, to the powerful harmonies, this is an amazing release from such a young band, or just about any band for that matter. Everything feels flawless in the songs from the acoustic guitars to the addition of the violin. At first I was a bit put off by the fact that there were no vokills, but by the time I had reached midway through the second song, I could've cared less. The music speaks on a level all its own. At times it reminded me of Opeth and at others I thought of the old-school Metallica instrumentals like Orion. With powerful solos and mesmerizing interludes Geomancer always has you wondering what's around the next corner.

The one thing that hurts this album (and I know it's not the bands fault) is the production. It would make most true black metal bands envious. Seriously though, the production hardly does these musicians justice. Honestly it sounds like it was recorded in a garage. When this band gets signed I hope to see these release re-recorded so that it can be enjoyed to its fullest potential.

Geomancer is a definitive band in the ever growing genre known as Progressive Metal, and rightfully so. To see this band disappear without a chance to do a proper release for an album would be a true shame. If you can obtain this self-titled release I highly recommend you do so, because I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot from this band in the very near future. This is truly a treat for the ears.