The Perfect Moment

The Perfect Moment, which is the first full-length album by Texas' Losa, may go down in history as one of the most spastic, hyper, schizophrenic metal releases of spring 2005. The thing that makes this alternative metal/metalcore disc — which has been greatly influenced by death metal/black metal — so schizophrenic and jarring is the way Losa changes tempos so frequently. The Texans love to change tempos without any warning whatsoever, and listeners are made to feel that the rug could — and probably will — be pulled out from under them at any second. Lead singer Michael Hall adds to the schizophrenia; his over-the-top vocals tend to favor a metalcore-type scream, although he can — without warning — lapse into a black metal-ish rasp or a death metal-ish growl. And there are times when his vocals aren't extreme. Although The Perfect Moment doesn't fall into the screamo/melodic hardcore/post-hardcore category, Hall does go for some of the extreme vocals/clean vocals contrast that screamo is known for. This CD, for all its harshness and ferocity, offers some melodic passages here and there, and when that happens, The Perfect Moment can take a Tool-ish turn. But the darkly melodic, Tool-minded passages are the exception instead of the rule; most of the time, Losa's first album is an exercise in sensory assault: dense, painful, discordant, skullcrushing, head-ripping sensory assault. Those occasional melodic passages offer a little breathing room, but more often than not, Losa delights in pummeling, stomping, and choking listeners into submission. The Perfect Moment isn't as consistent as it could have been; some of Losa's material works fairly well, and some of it isn't as successful. But they do have an intriguing approach and are worth keeping an eye on if one has a taste for extreme metal.