The Heavy Metal Yeti has a diet of pure metal. Lucky for me, a lot of great diverse metal has been coming out over the past few years. Always preferring to eat local, I've been pleased with all the fantastic local bands gaining momentum lately. Various is one of these bands, scoring one of my favourite releases of 2017 with their Red Messenger EP (check out the entire list here ). Hailing from Niagara Falls Ontario, the band spawned out of the ashes of a few prog and thrash metal bands active over the past few years. What doesn't kill you makes the metal better! Varius began in 2016, but hit the ground running in 2017 with a busy year of live shows and the release of their first EP, released independently last Halloween. Varius;- "diverse, different, changeable; variegated". The bands first EP Red Messenger is true to their name, featuring three songs of heavy hitting and technically diverse metal fury! Varius hits hard with a blend of traditional groove and progressively heavy metal. Each of the three songs on the EP brings something slightly different to the table, showcasing their embrace of fast paced guitar groove, progressive song structure, and mix of traditional and unorthodox instrumental combinations. The death growling vocals suits the instrumentals well on the album, enforcing the heavy tone that kept my furious furry head banging throughout. Red Messenger is also full of trippy and face-melting guitar solos reflecting the bands diverse nature. Varius doesn't shy away from good old fashion shred in their riffs. They keep the throttle pinned, breaking only for the few moments to enjoy some weird proggy fun. Various has a lot planned for 2018 and beyond with a new 4 song follow up planned for release this year and a number of live shows on the horizon. Keep your eyes peeled for them on your local bills and check them out if you get the chance! In the meantime you can listen, download, and buy merch online @ https://varius.bandcamp.com/releases . I cant wait to see what these guys have in store for us in the coming years!!- My Verdict\m/\m/\m/\m/ out of \m/\m/\m/\m/\m/4/5 - Magnificent! Give them a listen!