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Alarum - Eventuality

Thursday, 06 December 2007

Editor's rating

8.3

out of 10

Reviewed by:
Chad Coup
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Thursday, 06 December 2007
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Music Information

Track Listing:
01. Velocity
02. Sustained Connection
03. Lost Pleiad
04. Receiver
05. Remote Viewing
06. Inertial Grind
07. Cygnus X-1
08. Throughout The Moment
09. Woven Imbalance
10. Boundlessness Intent (Part 1)
11. Boundlessness Intent (Part 2)
12. Subject To Change
13. Event Duality
14. Audio Synthesis
15. Reconditioned

Artist: Alarum
Title: Eventuality
Genre: Progressive Metal • Jazz Fusion
Release Date: 16 November 2004
Record Label: Willowtip Records
Format: Full-length
Country: Australia
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Editor review

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Overall rating (weighted)		8.3
Musicianship		8.0
Composition		8.0
Experimentation		8.0
Production		9.0
Value		9.0

Alarum plays technical, thrashy death metal in the style of the hallmark acts of early 90s Tampa death metal. They are so schooled in this genre that they decided to one-up themselves with 'Eventuality.' The songs are twisty, technical and the like, but it is very tonally-pleasing and pretty. It's melodic, but not in the way that At The Gates, et al, are melodic. Take any track from Atheist's 'Unquestionable Presence' record, and then add some Cynic-esque interludes and that's the surface to this band. However, Alarum most definitely has a progressive metal feel at times. The effective, pleasing clean singing adds a nice level of cadence and balance to the thrash shouts.

Look at the cover art. It differs on which territory's version you get, but the color green is present on both versions. Green is organic, lively. That is Alarum's music. I'd imagine it would make for a great soundtrack while on a helicopter ride over a jungle or something. These guys seem to be in touch with the world around them, as their music 'makes sense,' but in a very creative and unique way. Maybe it's because they're from Australia. I suppose the varied, epic landscapes affects them.

I've actually seen Alarum live, and they perform in shorts and flip-flops and have a jovial attitude towards their music and fans. This comes across in the music. It helps that nearly every song is full of changing, creative passages that never get cheesy or less profound. One of Alarum's strengths is how they end their songs. I've never look forward to a song's end with a band I dig, but this is the rare case where the ending is sometimes the best part. Listen to "Velocity," "Sustained Connection," "Inertial Grind" and "Reconditioned" for some of their best material. The only real negative point I can bring up about this album is the lyrics are pretty weak. No big deal, but when the vocals are pretty clean, they can be kind of embarrassing to listen to.

This is one of those CDs I can pop in at any time of the day and get equal amounts enjoyment. Being their second record, it is a marked improvement over the '99 debut. More everything on all fronts, with higher emphasis on the progressive parts, this album is perfect for listening to while on a drive when the weather's nice. It's non-threatening, melodic, catchy, memorable and also very tech. I pretty much never like a band that throws in singing with metal vocals, but I really like it when this band pulls it off. These songs are short, with the average one at barely three minutes. There are plenty of ambient tracks, but they're so pretty and layered I can't not listen to them. Listen to the entire thing from beginning to end. You'll end up being a fan soon enough.

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