Calyces - Fleshy Waves of Probability

Calyces – Fleshy Waves of Probability
Release Date: 21st March 2025
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Metal, Progressive Metal, Alternative Metal, Progressive Sludge, Progressive Rock.
FFO: Baroness, Mastodon, Gojira.
Review By: Mark Young

Fleshy Waves of Probability (or FWOP to save my fingers) is the sophomore release from Calyces, building on and expanding the sound expressed on debut, Impulse To Soar. Now, if you scoot up to the FFO section and check the three bands mentioned, that should give you a bit of a clue as to what this musical journey will sound like. So, if those bands don’t float your boat, there’s a strong possibility that this is not for you. But, even saying that, you owe it to yourself to at least check this out because it deserves it. Honest to god.

This, for me, captures the immediacy of Mastodon’s earlier releases in terms of how they hit with you but with added sing-along-ability. The way they put together bewildering melody lines along with the heavier end is fabulous, especially when you throw in their natural knack for picking the right chord, the right movement, and it results in a barnstormer. They take enough from those bands, but not as a detriment to their own vision in how the songs they write should come across to us. The ending run on Swirling Towards The Light is brilliant, balancing in the light and the dark so well. Ditto for Boneshaker, and I’m trying to say that it uses the same compositional approach which boils down to ‘get an emotional pay off in there at all costs’ and they do it as naturally as breathing is to you and me. It’s not just the riffs though, behind this is some exemplary drumming that provides the necessary anchor whilst dropping in those fills that expand how you react to it. Wastelands is a great example of this, check out the middle sections around 2 minutes 30 for this. It’s the sound of a band that is in sync, all on the same path.

For me, a measure of how much I like an album is based on: Did I skip any tracks whilst driving (disclaimer – hands free if any members of His Majesties Police are reading) and does it make me want to learn their songs? On this, I found a paradox where Lost In Phrase didn’t work whilst driving but sat and listening it is a stunning track that I want the tab for. There is a great interplay between the vocal lines and the rhythm behind it, and I think it’s my favourite song on this. Being able to grab you in an emotional sense will always trump the car test, and this succeeds on this level, and I defy anybody to not get this when this track drops.

The following songs come in similar ways, Voices In The Grey has a lighter touch to it, whilst the opening bars of Forked Tongue invites you to dance. In both cases, they show another facet to them, one that is built on that supernatural ability to put songs together.

One of the things that always surprises me is how bands can sustain a certain level of quality throughout, and this is no different. Over the course of 39 minutes, they raise that bar and keep it there, with 8 tracks that hold true to their beliefs in what makes good music. The ending piece, Lethargy, is a prime example of what to expect the rest of the album to sound like. It’s a focused, assured blast that needs checking out. If they tour the UK, you have to get onboard and support them, absolute top-class release.