We first heard from Palaver in April upon the release of their single “Continuous.” That track introduced The Static Dive readers to a wildly experimental band with a schizophrenic view of musical genres. The group is actually a duo consisting of 17 year old Dalton Stevens (Vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass) and 20 year old Gabe Gilliam (drums, bass, keyboards, trumpet, percussion). Dalton and Gabe share both a love of complex Progressive Rock and the technical prowess to pull it off. Their music combines Thrash Metal grooves with Bluegrass picking and spaced-out Classic Rock, often in the same song.
“Reveltimatum ” is the brand new full length album from Palaver, released worldwide to all major streaming services on May 28, 2021. The 13 song collection takes the experimental premise set by the advance single “Continuous” and blows it up. Listening to the album is like taking a tour of modern Rock & Roll from the 70’s to now, with a particular emphasis on heavy Art Rock. Recorded in the duo’s home studios between December 2020 and March 2021, this is the sound of two guys with chops galore and a penchant for cerebral Metal with Jazz complexity.
The record opens with the epic “Balance.” Like many of the tracks on the album, the song clocks in at over nine minutes. The track delivers Yes-worthy melodic riffing, Speed Metal intensity and Pink-Floyd inspired Psychedelic Rock. And that is all within the first sixty seconds. As the album moves through its many moods, we meet these and countless other musical styles. Tracks like “The Eye Sore” and “Anchor ” incorporate modern Alternative styles like Grunge and Lo-fi Indie into the band’s repertoire. But Palaver never stays still for long. As soon as you think you’ve got them figured out they throw a curveball of Guttural Metalcore in the middle of a quiet melodic interlude.
Palaver’s sound is so diverse that it is impossible to pigeonhole them into any specific genre. The prevailing style could most likely be considered Progressive Metal, but that is a tremendous oversimplification. A case could be made that their vibe is similar to that of Rush. Like the Canadian legends, Palaver incorporates frequent shifts in tempo and time signature, stylistic turns at Melodic Metal and Psychedelia Rock, and cryptic/poetic lyrics. However, even then the similarities are more in mindset than sound.
To satisfy ourselves as prog obsessed musicians, most songs employ the use of odd time signatures, polyrhythms, and jazz inspired guitar theory.
Palaver
The experimentation continues. Tracks like “The Compromise” and the appropriately titled “The Panorama” introduce Classical stanzas, Bluegrass verses and even a little Spanish guitar. There is a healthy dose of psychedelia on the record, especially on the two closing tracks “Baryonic” and the mostly improvised “ecnalaB.” One element that remains consistent throughout is the virtuosic playing of these talented young musicians.
Check out “Reveltimatum” in its entirety below. You can also hear the beautiful acoustic number “The Opaque” on the Deep Indie Songwriters playlist and the rocker “The Panorama” on the Deep Indie Dive. Follow the links below to connect with Palaver. Get on their socials and get in the loop on all of the current and future projects from this exciting duo.