Up-and-coming progressive metalcore act Prospective released their third studio album in January, and it marked a turning point for the band.
The Italians' sophomore album, Unreal, was incredibly technically-driven, yet with latest release All We Have – the quintet's debut release on Long Branch – Prospective have taken a less practical approach, channelling raw emotions through a chaotic song-writing process.
The result is a record that tackles the band's deepest and strongest experiences and traumas and themes such as personal loss, aggression, pollution and war and a deviation in heaviness with more thoughtful choruses and attention to song structures. rough guitar tones, gnarly breakdowns and catchy choruses.
To celebrate the release of All We Have, we challenged the band to select their favourite tech-metal and djent riffs – here are the guys' top 10.
1. Opeth - Deliverance
"Maybe you didn’t expect Opeth to be included in this list, but this song in particular has everything that we want in a tech metal song. All the diminished chords, the odd tempos and the clean sections have influenced us to write heavy songs with a twist of kindness.
"Some riffs are so simple but yet so effective, the clean sections display a melancholic feeling thanks to the repetitive guitar and bass line and all the riffs are so diverse giving more entertainment to the song."
2. Northlane - Windbreaker
"I think that the riffs in this song are pretty unique. They make me feel angry and sad at the same time. They speak for themselves, like a loud and desperate shout."
3. Killswitch Engage - Break The Silence
"Nothing to say about it. One of the sweetest and technical opening riffs ever written. An explosion of wonderful notes."
4. Periphery - Racecar
"This song is a big pot of riffs. Every section is better than the previous and there is so much creativity in this tune that every time we listen to it is like the first time. You can find everything in these riffs: tapping, hammer on, pull off, big chords, fast riffs, breakdowns… You name it!"
5. Polaris - Consume
"The breakdown riff in this song is perfect. Simple, groovy, angry and direct! The best you can expect from a break! And the final one is so tech and djenty! A total banger!"
6. Meshuggah - Pravus
"The whole Obzen album is amazing riff-wise, but this song is surely one of our favorites. The fact that 90% of the riffs in this song use the pull off technique is amazing. Meshuggah always manage to write incredible songs using a few notes and Pravus is the perfect example."
7. Issues - Find Forever
"The groove in these riffs is just from another planet. Unbelievable. You just have to dance."
8. Tesseract - Dystopia
"The section after the first chorus is incredible. The stack cymbal placed on the downbeat gives the riff that spiciness and the guitar riff is so groovy we always end up dancing. Also, the chorus is so simple but the contrast between the low notes and the high note is what makes it so effective."
9. Dayseeker - Crooked Soul
"The first time I heard the first riff I almost cried! So intense and tech as well! Dayseeker rapidly became one of my favourite bands out there!"
10. Vildjharta - Eternal Golden Monk
"Words can’t describe what this band can do with their guitars. All the riffs in this song are mind blowing, the use of syncopated riffs and dissonant chords is out of this world and the fact that they transcend the typical song structure is incredible. Every time we listen to them is like a vivid nightmare."
Prospective's third album All We Have us out now via Long Branch Records and available on CD, streaming and digital download here.
