Late Night Song To Pwn n00bz To

"Upload Complete" by Last Chance To Reason


Progressive metal has long been one of my favorite subgenres in music. It's definitely the headiest variation of metal, with odd time signatures, trippy lyrics, twenty minute songs, and complex compositions that delve into metal groove as deeply as they do jazz. It's hard to define, which is fitting. Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor captured the spirit of prog well by saying that "prog is an easy way to get away with whatever you want. You can do whatever you want and if you're a progressive band, it's never weird." ¹  This is what allows Between The Buried And Me to write songs with keyboard parts and jazz bass solos and Mastodon to make a drug-addled concept album that involves astral travel, wormholes, and Czarist Russia. It's a beautiful thing. 

Mastodon's Crack The Skye was widely
viewed as one of the best records of 2009.

There has been a prog renaissance of sorts over the past few years that has been fueled by newcomers like Intronaut, The Human Abstract, The Ocean Collective, and Animals As Leaders, and they have done well in carrying the torch passed to them by pioneers like Isis, BTBAM, and Mastodon. Every year, there are more daring and interesting variations of prog, and Augusta, Maine's Last Chance To Reason are no different. Their most recent album, Level 2, is set in a "Tron-like digital world," and deals with the relationship between man and technology. It also comes packaged with a custom-made video game in the style of classics like Metroid. How cool is that?

Level 2

Last Chance To Reason sounds like a cross between BTBAM and any video game released for the SuperNintendo. It's definitely intricate but also has undeniable hooks. Just check out the music video for "Upload Complete," which features footage from their video game. If you want to experience LCTR and other proggernauts in a live setting, then check out the dates for their current tour with Animals As Leaders, Intronaut, and Evan Brewer. Enjoy.

Music Video For "Upload Complete"

Lyrics
Upload complete
Pixels form To violent limbs
I am born, the end begins
I stumble,
Physical format to this operating system
A system update glows in this directory
Erase or you will be erased
Erase do not miscalculate
Critical; File transfer required
Orbs of light scan my surface like curious children
Erase or be erased
Load.
Execute.


¹ Weingarten, Christopher. "Revenge of The Nerds." Revolver. May/June 2011.