Textures' breakup in 2017 left some marks and a lot of regrets. That's probably why its guitarist, Joe Tal, and vocalist, Daniel De Jongh, took three years to put a project back together, and another two years to release this debut album under the name Crown Compass. It's no coincidence either that the lyrics on "The Drought", which has all the makings of a concept album, all revolve around the difficulty of individuals finding their place in a group and in society, and the guilt that comes with it. However, even if the two musicians found a three star rhythm section to give life to the project, by taking Robin Zielhorst (ex-Cynic) on bass and Yuma van Eekelen on drums from Our Oceans, the fans of Textures who hope to find the djent and progressive metalcore spirit of "Dualism" and "Phenotype" will be at best destabilized and at worst disappointed by "The Drought".
Of course, the objective of Crown Compass is not to make a second Textures, and that's good. Moreover, even if the mathcore influences of Textures can sometimes be found in Crown Compass, in some tracks with chaotic structures (the excellent 'Ecdysis'), it is rather thrash metal that dominates here. A thrash metal fully assumed in the riffs ('The Drought I and II') and Joe Tal's solos and tempered by death metal incursions inherited from the early Textures, especially "Drawing Circles". It's all the more surprising that neither Joe Tal nor Daniel De Jongh were in the band at the time.
But what "The Drought" lacks the most are two essential ingredients that prevent it from fully living up to its promises: real melodic lines and a bit of modernity. Crown Compass seems to be strangely aware of this by opening the album with an acoustic folk track ('Send Your Words') and by sprinkling some tracks with atmospheric breaks ('Transborder Migration', 'A Limited Number Of Heartbeats'). However, this is not enough to prevent the listener from losing interest halfway through the album, despite the remarkable technique of each musician (special mention to Robin Zielhorst and his dantesque bass lines on 'Gilbert').
With "The Drought", Crown Compass tries the bet of progressive thrash metal, without really transcending the genre despite the impressive technique of each of its members. But a polyrhythmic deluge and speedy riffs have never given a real identity to a musical project. Finally, as often, it is what misses most in this new supergroup.