Coming from the south-eastern coast of Australia, Flitcraft are still a relatively new band fronted by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Phillip T. King. The trio consciously is working in the bare minimum setup of guitar, bass and drums, opting for a sometimes dryer sound than you are used from metal bands with a bigger line-up. This could be a problem for lesser bands, but comparing House At The Centre Of The Universe to its debut Our Long Journey To The Middle from a year earlier, it is obvious that the guys have really worked hard to get their sound more powerful and especially tighter, which can best be heard on the opener Error Era (2137), a fast-paced speed metal track with high vocals and incredible vocal harmonies that made me think of Damn The Machine, a short-lived progressive metal band from the early nineties that had such illustrious members as Chris Poland (ex-Megadeth) and Dave Clemmons. The guitar work shows also parallels to seventies hard rock bands like Thin Lizzy and occasionally also Rush.

The following Earth Is Not A Perfect Sphere starts with spacy synths before the song turns into a strong rhythmed hard rock track, again with the strange, high vocals that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me they make out the uniqueness of Flitcraft’s sound. I Forgot Everything (Research At Dive Bars) is another dry hard rocker that convinces with its sense of humour. House At The Centre Of The Universe is a narrative concept album, and while I don’t really get the story without a lyrics sheet, the songs mostly seem to deal with drinking and smoking… which probably also happens in a science fiction universe.

Chrysalistless (Uly’s Lament) is a ballad that reminds at first of Simon & Garfunkel, or even Extreme’s More Than Words, and although the song is carried throughout by an acoustic guitar, it becomes more fleshed out after the mellow beginning. Galactic Road Trip (Wayworn Travellers) has more of an earthy heavy metal flair, again with great vocal parts. Mother Jane (Mnemosyne) is a short ballad on acoustic guitar and spoken vocals, before Smoko With Sisyphus adds more punch again. The Pyre Of John McDonald is another acoustic guitar track, maybe a little too similar to Chrysalistless, and then the album ends with the six minute multi-part The House, which means well but shows that Flitcraft work best on their more concise material.

Flitcraft’s music is science-fictional in tone, and that’s where they remind me of Slough Feg. Their overall underground approach shares an attitude with many classic if hardly known metal bands from Heir Apparent to New Light Choir. It is hard to pinpoint them to a specific genre, as they find themselves between seventies hard rock and eighties heavy metal, with the progressive spirit of the nineties. This doesn’t mean that they sound old-fashioned, as the combining of the different influences results in a powerful mix that is best described as adventurous progressive metal. While the final ten minutes may not keep up with the impeccable first half hour, I still have to say that Flitcraft’s second longplayer House At The Centre Of The Universe is an incredible effort that shows that there can still be surprises coming from aspiring metal bands.

9 songs

40:18 minutes

***** ****

Genre: progressive metal

Label: Pitch Black

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