First Temple [Slimline]

Performer: Closure in Moscow
Engineer: Jeff Bond; Kris Crummett...
Producer: Kris Crummett...
Distributor: n/a

Notes: Personnel: Michael Barrett (guitar); Russell Hubley (horns); Chad Crawford (piano); Zach Hutchings (double bass); Kris Crummett (percussion). Audio Mixer: Kris Crummett. Recording information: Interlace Audio, Portland, OR. Something of an Australian Coheed & Cambria, Closure in Moscow unabashedly borrow from prog-rock titans like Rush and Tool for their smart, sharply played FIRST TEMPLE. As a debut, it's surprisingly self-assured, with confident, soaring choruses that rise out of airy arrangements that never sacrifice melody for heaviness or unnecessary complexity. "Vanguard" features propulsive forward motion and appealingly high vocals from singer Chris De Cinque, and the languid vocal interplay and guitars of "Deluge" almost sound like an update on the Police. Elsewhere, more frantic songs like "Afterbirth" give the band a chance to flex their knack for time-signature wizardry.

Alternative Press (p.122) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[J]am-packed with prog verbosity....They reserve all of their restraint for one totally ambient track, 'Permafrost'..."

Closure in Moscow initially developed a strong fan base in the band's native Australia, before scoring an opening slot on a tour with popular Stateside post-hardcore band Saosin. The resulting exposure gave the Down Under quintet a foothold internationally and they were soon signed by Equal Vision records and embarked on an extensive U.S. tour. Though not quite as wildly diverse as the Mars Volta, Closure in Moscow soon drew favorable comparisons not only to those genre-mixing experimental rock kings, but other progressive-minded heavy groups such as Coheed and Cambria.

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