The Makeshift Project are a good mix of ambient and technical progressive metal hailing from Cologne in Germany who have recently released their debut EP ‘Complimentarity’ upon you lucky, lucky people!
Kicking off with ‘Change’ which offers up a huge slab of riffage at its introduction before breaking down into a more melodic and vocal led verse which grows angrily into the bridge section. There are great melodic hooks and harmony throughout which single this out as a good crowd pleaser sure to be a live favourite.
‘The One’ follows and is a nice variation to the first track, I found this song to be a grower which after several spins became my best track. Although the shortest track on the album the song seems to have more space and progression then the others and hauntingly builds in tension along its length. It was here that the vocals also reminded me heavily of Taproot which is certainly no insult!

‘Closer to the Edge’ and ‘All I See’ I found to be very similar in their structure and were for me, unfortunately, the least memorable of the tracks on the album. Although both good tunes (the former with a very nice riff pounding throughout) they didn’t quite live up to the surrounding three songs, I would like to see them live to see if they form better in that environment.
The EP closes with ‘Alive’ which brings the tempo back up to the speed of ‘Change’, there is more urgency with this song which has a nice play off between rhythm section and vocal melody during the verses which breaks into a rung out chords whilst the vocals take the lead during the chorus.
Overall this is a great effort and for a debut EP The Makeshift Project should be very proud of themselves, there is a good variety in tone and pace throughout the five tracks and they have ordered them well to engage the listener and leave them wanting more at the finish. However I found some of the songs to be a tad formulaic in their structure and not as memorable as others and felt that at times the songs needed more space to explore some of the passages and hooks they were offering up. Hopefully these things will come in time as the band develop and mature together and I will definitely be watching out to see how they progress with their next release.
For fans of Taproot and A Perfect Circle, buy it now at https://themakeshiftproject.bandcamp.com/album/complementarity