Ladies & Gentleman, Please Meet Fox Territory

The Czech Republic's Fox Territory deliver & then some with their progressive, jazz-fusion debut LP, 'Degressive Fusion'.  

Since their inception in 2010, the Czech four-piece that is Fox Territory have but one mission - to make music they love but music that also skirts as many genres and sounds as they can tastefully weave together in a coherent fashion. And the band accomplishes just that very mission with their recent and (mostly) instrumental debut album, 'Degressive Fusion' (ha), which mixes prog, math, djent, jazz, and fusion wonderfully.  

As for a little history, over their seven years as a band, Fox Territory have released a handful of demos and singles, but it's here, on their damn fine debut full-length, that they've really stepped up to the plate. For it's 'Degressive Fusion' and the highly potent musicianship and compositional skills found within that should hopefully ensnare the attention of international media outlets and this genre's upper tier acts; pushing this quartet's music out of their native homeland and across the far reaches of the globe.

I mean, already the band has scored solid supports under the likes of Periphery, Good Tiger (who I also only recently discovered and fuck me, they're good), as well as Veil Of Maya, and the band even nabbed a spot on their nation's prime heavy music festival - Brutal Assault. S'not a bad start, really.

Fox Territory itself consists of the flowing rhythm section duo of drummer Zdenek Modlitba and bassist Jiri Horak, who both anchor down the vivid chemistry of guitarists Michal Galik and David Machovsky who round out their talented, virtuosic sound. And such terms as 'virtuosic' are truly warranted for this group as their 16-track debut proves time and time again across its hour or so runtime. With bright melodies, beautiful guitar chord voicing, the occasional yet ethereal vocal section, impeccably tight grooves and more jagged odd-time rhythms, all the solid techniques and "tricks" of a good prog/progressive record, and with an explorative curiosity for varying sounds, timbres and genres; 'Degressive Fusion' is a fantastic listen!

[caption id="attachment_1092453" align="alignnone" width="760"] 'Degressive Fusion' is out now. And it's fuckin' mint![/caption]

Now, normally, 16-tracks are a bit of an ask unless the music actually warrants it and is good and interesting enough for such length. However, Fox Territory back that quantity up with real quality as they've produced so much more than a technical yet long-winded record full of "musical gymnastics".

Across the dynamic journey that is 'Degressive Fusion', there are many favourites to pick out; cuts that best represent this album overall and songs that really stuck with me well after this record ended. Tracks that come to mind are the raging, angular riffage of 'Sleep Paralysis', which sounds akin to an instrumental Dilliner Escape Plan track circa 2008-2013, and the tapped guitar parts towards the end prelude a wicked, groovy finale. Then there's the beautiful and lush 'Irish Steel'; The fast, upbeat rhythms and hammering riffs of 'Country Strike'; the synth and staccato-heavy 'Pablo's Circus'; and the groovy, djent-meets-classical 'Desert Eagle'.

Elsewhere, the swirling 'Clockwork Joy' sees the band taking a leaf out of Animals As Leaders' immaculate book in terms of impressive guitar work, call-and-response motifs, and strong but fluctuating song dynamics. Actually, this track is perhaps the best example of Fox Territory's knack for layering their guitars; on how they create just the right timbre for their sound; and how they match their technicality with good songwriting skills. That last part is something that some progressive artists can often forget about, sacrificing actual songwriting flow and ability to instead show off their guitar chops and how many fucking notes they can fling together in their sweeps.

Moving way from the rather guitar-heavy focus of their music, the punctuating horns featured on both the rhythmically surging 'Sigmund' and the CHON-meets-Intervals-like textures of the jazzy 'Chia Tong' are definite standout moments. Those trumpets, along with the band's use of various synth sounds, and a whole host of guitar tones - ranging from the naturally clean and warm, to the affected and ambient, to the crunchy and distorted - all help to upkeep Fox Territory's sonic palette as a varied and interesting one. And I truly hope that the band pushes such sonic variation on future releases as it really does help to separate them from the more popular American, Australian and English pack.

Further helping the ebb and flow of the 'Degressive Fusion', the record is also broken up by a handful of brief compositions. These pieces range from soft, acoustic guitar lulls (opener 'Waves'), panned-out, classical guitar sweeps ('Titled') and ambient-pop-like moments of electronic drum samples, atmospheric instrumentation, and short guitar frills (see: the trio of numbered interlude tracks). Thankfully, each of these pieces is short in their length and nor do they interrupt the album's overall flow.

Now, while the band is by and large an instrumental act, they do occasionally incorporate vocals, namely with the spacious and softly intimate female vocals on 'Pablo's Circus' and the beautifully ethereal vocals on 'Calm Fragrance', both courtesy of Petra Brabencová. As for the other musicians helping to flesh out this record further, the keyboards were tracked by one Martin Konvička with the trumpets all performed by one Jiří Kotača for 'Sigmund' and 'Chia Tong'.

Also, excluding the drums (which were all recorded and mixed at PULP studios in Slovakia's capital city, Bratislava), all of the other instruments - the guitars, bass, keys, brass sections, etc. - were all recorded in the guitarists' kitchen in their small apartment in Brno; the second largest city in the Czech Republic, mind you. Despite the DIY job, and while there are most certainly better mixes out there for this style, it still sounds pretty good. Ah, the perks and joys of close miking and home-recording! 

Look, if you're a sweater of CHON, Intervals, Animals As Leaders, Polyphia and/or Australia's own guitar wizard Plini, you will feel right at home with Fox Territory's grand debut. You can purchase 'Degressive Fusion' on Bandcamp here, over on iTunes, or you can just stream it below - your choice, really. Just be sure to check it out!

Header Promo credit: Oliver Staša.