The Apparatus

 Wednesday, 28 November 2007 It's a ridiculous way to start off an album, but as soon as that ringing noise in Scolopendra Cingulata hits you, you know immediately you're in for something different. Cephalic Carnage play what they like to call "Rocky Mountain Hydrogrind", and I may not have any means to describe it, it's clear they are trying to create something completely new with their music and that alone garners my respect, as it should yours.

This album is Cephalic at the top of their form, every track has it's own sound, every single track offers something different while maintaining the band's sound. They manage to fuse grindcore, death metal, sludge, even a few stoner rock riffs, yet still having technical and difficult aspects to their songs and song structure which keeps you interested. During your first listen there is no way to predict the way this album will unfold. The best example I can think of was the first time I popped this little guy into the stereo, during the end of the opening track I was grooving to the slow doom chugs but lo and behold here comes the best segue I've heard since 1982. Fortuitous Oddity blasts its way from the speakers featuring non-stop blasts and guttural vocals for a good 44 seconds. The entire album is a non-stop, constantly changing leviathan. It's great, really.

In short, the entire album oozes brutality, technicality, and everyone's favourite, originality. If you're into any type of "extreme music", or just looking for something new, do not look over this album. You'll surely be missing out. And no one wants that.

 Wednesday, 28 November 2007 When the first track of this album blasts out of your speakers you are deceptively lured into thinking "This is great! And it's only the first track! The rest of the album must be more heavenly progressive music such as this." Unfourtunately this isn't the case. The first track on the album is in my opinion the strongest, wielding creative drum techniques and fills by Mr. Hellhammer, of Mayhem fame, beautiful synth scapes and harmonised vocal perfomances. After listening to the first few tracks, the rest of the album loses it's momentum and feels unwillingly restrained. It transforms from this very unique synth-fused progressive metal to much more of a folk style of music probably due to frontman Lars Are Nedland's folk-metal background.

That being said this is still a very good album. Very different, I have heard nothing like it before. Their use of skewed keyboards and electronic instruments make this a much fuller music experience and sets the band apart from others with simliar goals in terms of progressive music. I really enjoy the piano and violin bits present in most songs and I think that they are definitive in Age of Silence's style. Stripped of those parts, along with the synth passages, this band would be hard to clearly spot in a line-up. Though these elements are in nearly all the songs I feel like they are underplayed and should be used more freely, because those are the touches that win me over each time. Sure, the Huxley-inspired lyrics, pretty vocals and guitars are all well and good, but it's the little touches that set this release apart. I'm probably just being picky.

Well, enough of that. Frankly, yes. This is a very good album, very original in it's ideas and sound but with a group with these ideas there should be more focus and pacing and even though the album sounds uneven and some songs blend together, they manage to stay fresh. This album is something new and I respect that. Acceleration is a great listen and those who consider them selves fan of any sort of progressive music should do themselves a favor and look up this disc for some unique and pleasant music.

 Wednesday, 28 November 2007 Fuck your Norma Jeans and your Throwdowns. This, right here, is what hardcore should sound like. Botch paved the way for metalcore and hardcore alike with their technical chugs, drums and heavy grooves, not to mention the pissed-the-fuck-off vocals, standard for any "hardcore" band nowadays . Too bad they'll never sound as good as Botch. They don't fuck around with dissonant noise intros or ridiculous open fret breakdowns. American Nervoso just gets right in your face and doesn't hold back.

Right from the first second of the album opener, "Hutton's Great Heat Engine", you're treated to a nice heavy groove with some off timed guitar chugs and drum beats. Right from these few seconds, you're hooked. At least I was. So many bands have tried to be an "original" hardcore band, but they could never pull it off. Botch has a genuinely unique sound, echoes of which can be heard on any album by the less technical, but possibly more pissed off Converge.

Alright, I don't know about most people but I myself detest vocals that sound, well, fake. Like it's just some voice people can do. Fuck that. I want angry yelling and screaming, mumbled spoken words and anything else that would fall into that category and as with good, talented bands in this scene, when you listen to Botch that's what you get. Vocals and lyrics matching the music, and complimenting each other so well. The music is obviously angry, loud, and chaotic. So why should the vocals be any different? Hearing "I've received nothing from you" over screeching notes just plain sounds better coming from fucking pissed off vocals.

Everything sounds so good, you have to remember this isn't even their best work.

Now I can go on about this album if you like, but I can guarantee it won't be as satisfying as actually listening to it. So why don't you go and do that.

Well?