(2021) Musk Ox - Inheritance


Review:
Musk Ox is billed as a chamber-folk trio, and consists of Nathanael Larochette on classical guitar, Raphael Weinroth-Browne on cello, and Evan Runge on violin. Inheritance is their third full-length album, and first since 2014. Weinroth-Browne and Runge trade riffs and power chords, while all three follow melodic lines that repeat and slowly develop. Larochette provides mostly plucked chords. The feel is cinematic, almost minimalist, and often resembles that of a chamber group performing covers of heavy rock bands. But, Inheritance in all new music, and fresh in that regard. The opening self-titled suite is split into two parts totaling over 23 minutes. It exhibits a wide range of assertiveness, from the aggressive to the delicate. But keeping with rock themes, it moves along in a propelled fashion. Memorium explores slower and more melancholy themes, while Ritual covers similar ground though gradually grows heavier. Weightless caps things off with one of the more intricate blends of harmony on the album played at a deliberate pace before evolving into a rock-like set of rhythms. In sum, Inheritance is a more than worthwhile effort for anyone who wished that their favorite prog-metal group would just break down and play classical music.





Track Listing:
01 - Inheritance (Part 1 - Premonition)
02 - Inheritance (Part 2 - Hindsight)
03 - Memoriam
04 - Ritual
05 - Weightless


Media Report:
Genre: alternative folk, classical
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits