Artifex Pereo – Time in Place

Familiar Place in Time

Artifex Pereo is a Christian rock band hailing from Louisville, Kentucky. Their newest album, Time In Place, makes a clear case for them being in the right place at the right time. Too bad they’re a little late to the party; Artifex Pereo fits in with the innumerable screamo bands that shaped the early ’00s music scene. You can make the argument that they sound a lot like The Receiving End of Sirens, or early Thrice records. Bombastic, mathy drums driving riffy guitars with high-pitched vocal lines about girls fill this album.

That being said, they perform this style of music very well. From the first track, “No Stranger to Worry,” you get a sense of what the whole album is going to be about. Lead vocalist Lucas Worley croons over double-kick-laden metallic-twinged pop lines. The curveball here is the Hammond organ– a great sounding instrument used throughout the record.

One of Artifex Pereo’s strengths is their tightness, which they keenly demonstrate on Time in Place. They are well-rehearsed and nail complex parts with ease. The second track on the album, “Annica,” showcases that quality. From the outset, the drums are doing a start-stop beat in an odd time signature. It’s a very common lick thrown around in that scene. The vocal acrobatics on this song are also impressive, but may be a bit much. It seems counterintuitive here.

Overall, these guys do a good job with genre they find themselves in. Although, the noteworthy musicianship leaves the listener thinking they could’ve done so much more with the talent they have. For them it might be a Time in Place, but for most of us we’ve already been there.