More than meets the eye

The Expansion is Teleport’s sixth release, upon which the Slovenian quartet has slapped the fourth differently designed logo in its visual representation history. Their current moniker has taken the guise of dank ‘n’ drippy old-school death metal, a font for which Voivod’s Away should be getting royalties; hell, Gorguts’ Luc Lemay could have a legal team sending cease-and-desist orders for if he wasn’t one of the nicest guys in metal. Teleport do it all and, as you might imagine from the solid score above, do it quite well.

With a debut full-length due later this year, Edged Circle has decided to put their latest find on broader display given that The Expansion was originally a cassette-only release that quickly disappeared after its late 2018 release. Recorded in the band’s practice space, this 21-minute EP is a celestial journey through all the logos the band members drew on their schoolbooks: Voivod, Gorguts, Morbid Angel, Watchtower, Agent Steel, Toxik, the Chasm, Immolation, Tourniquet, Obituary… you get the idea. But there’s no way a metallic gumbo as purveyed by adventurous youth could only be about the past—despite what both name and logo(s) hint at.

The spidery crawl and coiled slither of guitarists Matija Dolinar and recently departed Jan Medved intersect with the loosely compartmentalized, fusion-inspired rhythm section. Everything plays to the flow and structure of the song as much as skill is shown off. Each of the three tracks demonstrates the emphasis that Teleport place on purposeful riffs and arrangements, which allows for deeper exploration of their universe on the way to the discovery of a unique and uncluttered voice. And by the sound of things, they’re well on their way.