From  the land of oil, alpine vegetation, fine cuisine and really hot women tennis players comes the even more abstruse ill-fitting piece of the jigsaw, a modern metal band. However, as is the case with most of Russia’s highlights, Elitist too is like a ten-tonne hammer ready to take the world by storm. This Ep is a cracker of a progenitor on the pathway to success and a new world order, not only for the band but also the genre in its developmental curve.

Their fascination with guitar tones gets the entire record to an ethereal new stratum, dropping the scales to humongous tuning. The palm muting is superlative and the songwriting is well-thought out. With 2010’s all out attack in each genre the Russian mentalists wanted the groovy progressive genre to its fair share of small EP’s and Caves delivered with a sucker punch to the jaw. The opener in the form of ‘transcend’ is a fair illustration of what the band wants and stamps its class in the near 2 minutes. It sets the ambience for the remaining 4 songs to knock your socks off. The off-kilter tones complement the diabolic tuning with a doleful feel to the track.

Gushing straight into ‘Principles’ which is sharply distinct from the first song. Changing time signatures bring a refreshing tinge to the music and the drum work is insanely technical, going hand in hand with the skull-crushing vitriol of the guitar riffs. Despite the first minute that sounds a wee bit derivative in terms of the tempo and scales, the rest of the track more than makes up for the loss. ‘array’ picks up exactly where ‘transcend’ left the listener with a mellow background to the vocals that improve with each song blending with greater confluence. The bass lines get more complex, keeping the rhythm section tight.

The title track is the standout which gives a Textures-meets-Adaliah vibe to leave the collagen in your neck sore for quite a while. The notes get higher and it’s a more abrasive dig at one’s senses. ‘odeon’ brings a closure that caps a brilliant effort off, leaving ample space for future releases to satiate the listener’s appetite. A new decade, a new dawn.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFcTjnHnSQ8[/youtube]