TRACK OF THE DAY: HALO TORA – ‘Ruins’

TRACK OF THE DAY: HALO TORA - 'Ruins'

Halo Tora are a five piece union of progressive rock burgeoning from Glasgow, Scotland. A bond formed through years of writing and live shows supporting the likes of Jamie Lenman (Reuben) and My Vitriol as well as recently embarking on their own UK tour. The band repress nothing, by concentrating and coalescing their individual creative forces the band are able to subjugate generalised stylistic boundaries contrastively sitting somewhere between prog-rock, alt-rock and post rock. The result is a raw yet emotional album which is as dynamic as it is powerful.

Halo Tora have worked relentlessly and meticulously, carefully cultivating and refining the material which can be heard in their forthcoming debut album ‘Omni\One’. Throughout the album melodic dual vocals intertwine and coalesce with equally complimentary dark and atmospheric guitar exchanges, whilst chilling classical piano sections float underneath a frenetic back-bone of driving bass and thunderous beats, fills and crashing cymbals.

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A wide range of influences can be heard throughout the album from tracks such as ‘Age of Terror’ and ‘Bones That Rock The Cradle’ which call to mind the post-rock meets progressive instrumentation and soft yet visceral vocals of artists such as Karnivool and Dredg, whereas other tracks such as ‘Permanent Revolution’ and ‘Ruins’ which blend structured atmospherics and power vocals conjure up memories of Oceansize. However, these influences never instigate notions of plagiarism, Halo Tora are able to take these moments and mould them in their own vision, which makes these compositions all the more appealing.

‘Omni\One’ is as diverse as it is accomplished and there is an invigorating confidence and honesty to it which has come through there perseverance and patience in ensuring that everything is crafted to perfection, as guitarist and lead vocalist Chris Alexander says, “This record really is a coming together of all our experiences and personalities and with that a license to explore places musically that we had never been as individuals. It was great to be able to throw ourselves at it and watch it take shape.”

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

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