I can’t sing the praises of Melbourne’s Twelve Foot Ninja enough. The fusion-metal quintet from down under are currently on tour pushing their sophomore LP, Outlier, which surfaced on August 26th via Volkanik Music. The current lineup is comprised of vocalist Nik “Kin” Etik, guitarists Stevic MacKay and Rohan Hayes, bassist Damon McKinnon, and drummer Shane Russell.
Being a huge fan myself since 2012’s “Silent Machine”, I was definitely excited to hear more from these guys after catching sight of their crowdfunding campaign on the band’s Facebook page. Even dating back to their 2008 debut effort “New Dawn”, the band’s intelligent, sometimes quirky approach to songwriting is tasteful on all fronts.
Lead single “One Hand Killing” kicks off the album nicely, building into that unmistakable “djent”-y guitar crunch. The verses deliver impressive three-part stacked vocal harmonies, later leading into falsetto melodies and gorgeous jazz-fusion instrumentals.
“Oxygen” incorporates jazzy, reggae infused guitar tones. Enter Etik’s wide, unabashed vocal style; which ranges from melodic, to falsetto harmonies, to growls that I wouldn’t consider “too harsh” for a so-called non-metal fan.
Perhaps the two tracks that stand out to me the most are “Collateral” and “Post Mortem”. I found both to be lyrically thought-provoking, and rounded out with catchy choruses that were stuck in my head for literal days after my first listen.
With the evident combination of musical genres aside, the band effectively fuses catchy, funky, smooth pop-laden vocal lines with complex instrumentals that any classically-trained musician can appreciate. But if it’s one thing that I’ve always found impressive yet consistent about Twelve Foot Ninja; it would be the band’s ability to incorporate so many sonic elements into each song, while returning to a core structure when appropriate.
I encourage everyone to support these guys by hitting the link below and purchasing “Outlier” today on iTunes, or any online music outlet. Alternatively, you can stream it on Spotify (which I swear I’ve done at least 30 times since its release). Check their official website for tour dates, and make sure you don’t miss them when they roll through your town. I look forward to witnessing a future with a band like these guys, who obviously relish taking such a fresh and interesting approach to writing heavy music.
