The Apparatus

 Friday, 04 January 2008 For a band that started out as a joke, these guys have come a long way. Remember when they were just another silly deathcore band with the silly sexual allusion of a name? I do. When I first heard See You Next Tuesday I did not like them at all. They're music was terrible, the vocals were awful and the music was just spastic nonsense. I guess it's understandable, they were just fucking around. I mean, they hired a their old vocalist simply because he had grizzly facial hair. Would you ever take this band seriously? Neither would I. After I first heard them, they dropped off of my radar completely. Then I heard they had hired Fox from Flesh and Blood Robot as their new vocalist, I figured they might have changed a bit so then when this album came out I made sure to find it and give it a shot.

Whatever happened to them, they turned themselves from a deathcore joke band with a funny name to a furious tech-grind band with a funny name in, what seemed to me, to be no time at all. This album puts SYNT on the map as a force to be reckoned with in the technical music community and I couldn't be happier for them. Now their ADD-addled fretwork is inspired, well written insanity, the drumming is fast as hell, creative and impressively precise and with the inclusion of Fox's disturbingly tortured vocals this band has never sounded better. I'm actually surprised this band is as popular as they are, it must be the breakdowns (which are some of the most obnoxious and annoying breakdowns I've ever heard but I thank them for that).

The first track is just a little 5 second intro but from then on you're bombarded with intense grooves, crazy taps and sweeps, blasts and some insane vocals as well as some of the most poetic lyrics I've read in quite a while. This all goes on wonderfully for 5 tracks without stopping but when you hit the seventh song, Paraphilia, you'll see a side of SYNT you haven't seen before. It's a beautiful, slow melodic song that goes on to be the second longest track on the album (not saying much there though). It just comes out of nowhere, it's the one thing on the album you don't come to expect and they pull it off sounding great. After that it's back to the SYNT you've come to know and love, filled to the brim with technical breakdowns for the kids to dance to, brutal riffs and a drummer who seems to have a personal vendetta with his kit.

The only thing I can complain about is the album's play time, after 13 tracks of some of the most original grind this side of the coast you're left wanting more only to be disappointed with the brutally short 18 minute run time. Hopefully the next album will fix Parasite's most disappointing flaw. I can't wait to hear more from these guys.

 Wednesday, 02 January 2008 It's hard to categorize Genghis Tron. Not only do they have ridiculously fast blast beats(due to their drum machine) and high pitched screaming vocals, they definitely are not cybergrind, I don't think so anyway. If they are, they're definitely on a higher level than most other bands in the genre. Their style is in a league of ts own. I'd consider it more progressive than anything. The way they can fuse such utter chaos and beautiful electronic and keyboard work without sounding muddled or confused is glorious and this album is the perfect example.

It's starts out simply enough, a grinding assault that may mislead you into thinking the Tron aren't anything new or special. It seems the album gets more and more progressive as it goes on. By the second track you're introduced to the infusion of a sort of techno dance beat in the middle of the song. It may sound stupid or funny but it sounds so damn good. By the time the title track rolls around, you'll know that these guys know what they're doing. Dead Mountain Mouth starts off as any other GT song you've heard and slowly becomes this beautiful melodic track as the keyboards take the center stage along with Mookie's screeching vocals, something Cloacal Kiss repeated on the title track of their debut "Easter". I believe it to be one of the highlights (DMM and the slow jam Asleep on the Forest Floor being my personal favourites) of the album. From that song on you don't just get straight forward electronic grind but an impressive fusion of grindcore and electronic music that has never done this well.

I never get tired of this album. It never steps below the standard the album sets. Genghis Tron are much too good for that. The songs, titles and lyrics are never cliché or have been done before. It's a great step up from their Cloak of Love EP. I believe Genghis Tron to be true pioneers in the extreme music front. As the years go by Tron keep getting better and better. Cannot wait for the new album, it’s good thing I have this beauty to hold me over until then.

 Wednesday, 02 January 2008 I had never heard of this band until a friend of mine first showed me this CD. With nothing to pass judgment on but their not TOO generic name and so-so cover art, let's just say I wasn't expecting to be impressed. Well, you can see where this is going. Naturally I was. The Faceless blend of melodic death metal and jud-judding was not necessarily unique but I've never heard it sound this good. If I have, no examples come to mind at this point.

Instrumentally speaking the entire album is admirably tight. Every member of the band playing quickly and cleanly. It all sounds great. Each note, drum and cymbal sounds perfectly clear. The drums themselves a particular standout, in my opinion. The album is also surprisingly technical. We don't get the usual formulaic melo-death plus something for the kids to dance to (they do borrow heavily from Beneath the Massacre, I mean seriously, listen to Track 5 and TELL me with a straight face that wasn't a BTM rip-off). At least not on every fucking song on the album, which is a breath of fresh air amidst the flood of generic bullshit I hear on a day to day basis. At least the Faceless sound good. Even the breakdowns are creative. Which is something all those kids who always wanted to start a band can learn from. If you want to sound like something that's been done before at least get a little creative with it, like these Faceless gents do. Musically anyway. Lyrically, it's the same shit. Talk of death, decay, the "torments of existence", we've heard it all before.

Anyway, about halfway through the album it hits you, out of nowhere, mind you. The title track, Akeldama. I was not expecting this shit. After six tracks of the usual melo-death, comes a gorgeous instrumental track. Sure, it's no "Imogen's Puzzle", but it is a nice break from the mold. Five minutes of solely wonderful guitar riffs and solos, nice technical drumming, and a lovely keyboard layer in the mix. Needless to say I was remarkably impressed by this, a band I thought I had pegged come out of nowhere with this song, clearly not expected on an album such as this.

And we're back, the album closer jets you back from that lovely soundscape to the Faceless you'll hear at a live show. More growls, riffs, solos and breakdowns. But I can't get too down on it because at the core of it all, Akeldama is just simply a fun album. I don't take this band too seriously. To me it's just good music to just sit back and enjoy, but leave your brain at the door. No matter how good this band sounds, you really won't need it.

 Friday, 14 December 2007 I myself am not savvy with all these crazy west coast bands and had never heard much of Hella before being handed this release. I knew they had been around for a while and started off as just a two-piece with only Spencer Seim on guitar and Zach Hill on drums. There's No 666 In Outer Space is the band's first album with a new line up and vocals on every single track. I'm sure this must have worried a handful of the old school Hella fans at least a bit (It's okay, you can admit it!) but they have nothing at all to worry about, There's No 666 is easily Hella's fullest and most complete album to date and their inclusion of Aaron Ross on vocal duties, Carson McWhirter on bass and keys and Hill's brother Josh as the second guitar player. Hella have never sounded better. This album is one of the most exciting releases of the year, I guarantee you haven't heard anything like it.

The album opener, "World Series", perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album and let's the listener know what their getting themselves into. Right from the beginning you're bombarded with off-the-wall guitar melodies, furiously complex drum patterns and ethereal vocals. The entire album does not relent with these things. Each song is a marvelous coagulation of technical dexterity and musical harmony, with not one thought or idea rehashed or halfheartedly done.

It's obvious to see that all of the members of Hella are greatly accomplished musicians creating a completely original style and sound with their own instruments. The member I am amazed at time after time is Zach Hill. Now everyone in the group are all brilliant in their own right but Hill's drumming is really something to marvel at. The man is completely self-taught and plays on just a small 5 piece kit (from what I have seen anyway) and manages to create some of the most creative and exciting patterns and rhythms I've heard. This guy only has one bass pedal but if you just heard it, you'd swear he had at least three. He must have some extra arms he doesn't tell anyone about because it honestly baffles me how he plays what he does without so much as a second to take a break. He perfectly compliments his band mates' fast and furious guitar and bass lines and along with Ross' surreal vocals, Hella have created this work of art that deserves everyone's attention. They have made this style of playing each instrument that has never been done the way Hella does it before, and even if this style has been done before I can guess that it has surely not been done as well as it has on this album.

Really.

Aside from the band's earlier releases, There's No 666 In Outer Space sounds like nothing I have ever heard before. The album is a true milestone in the field of progressive music.

 Tuesday, 11 December 2007 It's a pretty rare occurrence when an album holds my attention the entire way through, but Hangman's Hymn is one of those occurrences. Japanese avant-garde black metal outfit Sigh's seventh opus is one of the most pleasant surprises I've come across in a long time. After reading about them in an issue of Decibel magazine, I figured I might as well give it a shot, they usually know what they're talking about, I thought, so I decided to give it a listen. I didn't know what to expect, I was just hoping it wouldn't be some forgettable black metal garbage. And to my delight, it wasn't; for the music I heard was not some horribly produced bile with the cool flutter of icy Norwegian hell winds, but great symphonic black metal with aggressive vocals, beautifully played symphonic keyboards against distorted guitar riffs and well played, effective drumming.

The entire album is essentially one long song as you'll see by the similar chord progressions, lyrical themes and orchestral parts that seem to find their way onto different tracks on the album. For example, the ending chant of "Dies Irae" is also right at the beginning of the album closer. It's little things like that that make Hangman's Hymn such a great album.

Like I said, it was a hell of a pleasant surprise. The band manages to create incredibly memorable songs, which are easily differentiated, and easily maintains a clear vision and focus that is always present to the careful listener. I have gone back and listened to Sigh's older material, and from what I have gathered I must say this is their best release yet. All the songs are straight to the point but are obviously very musically complicated with layers of different little touches that make this one a winner. Sigh has left no stone unturned and each aspect of the album sound has been carefully considered and expertly executed.

What really sets this release apart is that the keys and synth, as well as the few trumpet passages, are not just some afterthought tacked on for a more classy musical experience. They are clearly present adding a whole other gorgeous layer to the band's vision. It all sounds so good it's hard to find any shortcomings on the album; my only complaint is that during the majority of the album the drummer plays the exact same beat. But that honestly doesn't even matter when you're hearing front man Mirai screaming about insanity and malevolent creation to melodic guitar work and fucking epic orchestral and choir music. It doesn't hinder this musical journey one bit. This is a highly enjoyable album, easily approachable, perfectly satisfying and completely original. If Sigh's seventh studio release sounds this good, imagine what lies ahead for them.