Jonathan Hill

A Soapbox for Uninformed Opinions

Jul
31

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Front Line Assembly Echogenetic Review

Category: Music Tags: , , , , , Leave a Comment

General Information:

Artist: Front Line Assembly
Album: Echogenetic
Genre(s): Electronic, Electro-Industrial
Subgenres(s): Dubstep
Released: 2013
Length: 58 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Dependent Records, Metropolis Records

Track List:

01. Resonance
02. Levelled
03. Killing Grounds
04. Blood
05. Deadened
06. Ghosts
07. Echogenetic
08. Exhale
09. Exo
10. Prototype
11. Heartquake

Front Line Assembly Echogenetic Cover

Front Line Assembly Echogenetic Cover

Front Line Assembly Echogenetic Review

With Echogenetic, Front Line Assembly has fully embraced their dubstep influences that first came about on the Airmech soundtrack from the previous year and they’ve made it central to their sound this time around. It’s a natural progression to what they were already experimenting with so this development shouldn’t come across as that much of a shock to most fans.

The electric guitars featured in many of their other albums are absent entirely and while Front Line Assembly have retained their grotty industrial aesthetic that conjures up scenes from a decaying dystopian city, the direction that the music has taken is accessible without having to latch onto the “brostep” style of artists like Skrillex or Excision so hardcore fans can rest assured that the band are still very much themselves.

A new dynamic within the group has clearly influenced their direction. Along with Bill Leeb and long-time collaborators Jeremy Inkel and Jared Slingerland, they reunited with Craig Johnsen and Sasha Keevill who both contributed to the Airmech soundtrack. For Echogenetic they worked in 2 separate groups consisting of Jeremy Inkel and Sasha Keevill in the first and then Jared Slingerland and Craig Johnsen in the second with Bill Leeb jumping between them. Every few weeks all 5 contributors got together to go over the material to critique it and add new elements to the songs.

Killing Grounds exemplifies what Front Line Assembly is capable of doing within dubstep as this song in particular has plenty of momentum and memorable moments. Some other songs lack the immediate appeal that you easily recognise here so they take a bit more time to grow on you. On the other end of the spectrum is Prototype, an instrumental that could have been accurately retitled Archetype. It’s packed full of interesting twists and turns while avoiding any and all accusations of being comfortable background noise because it is something that commands your attention.

Echogenetic is a focused effort that should have been shook up with more varied tempos or even by bringing back the guitars for a few songs to avoid this pleasant plateau that the band seems to have found themselves on although this unlikely fusion of genres also makes for an interesting album beyond any novelty you could associate with it.

Performers:

Bill Leeb: Vocals, Electronic instruments
Jeremy Inkel: Electronic instruments
Jared Slingerland: Electronic instruments
Craig Johnsen: Electronic instruments
Sasha Keevill: Electronic instruments

External Links:

Front Line Assembly Homepage
Front Line Assembly on Wikipedia
Echogenetic on Wikipedia

Jun
29

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New Model Army The Ghost of Cain Review

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General Information:

Artist: New Model Army
Album: The Ghost of Cain
Genre(s): Rock, Folk Rock
Subgenres(s): Post-Punk
Released: 1986
Length: 35 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): EMI

Track List:

01. The Hunt
02. Lights Go Out
03. 51st State
04. All of This
05. Poison Street
06. Western Dream
07. Lovesong
08. Heroes
09. Ballad
10. Master Race

New Model Army The Ghost of Cain Cover

New Model Army The Ghost of Cain Cover

New Model Army The Ghost of Cain Review

The Ghost of Cain is the third studio album by British post-punk outfit New Model Army. Unlike a great number of other rock bands, New Model Army has a big emphasis on narrative-driven lyrics that touch on serious themes of justice, politics and social issues.

This is outlined right from the get-go with The Hunt, which deals with street justice in a town overrun by drug dealers and thugs that are untouchable due to corruption and fear. 51st State is an irony-soaked acoustic song about American exceptionalism while Master Race reflects on countries acting like the world police because of their arrogant sense of superiority.

Western Dream is perhaps the most serious in terms of lyrical content when Justin Sullivan pessimistically looks at “the bitterness of failure and the dirt of success” in the western world. He goes on to sing about how sometimes it looks like there are only two choices; know your place or “trample over everyone” to be successful while living with the dirt of doing so.

Every instrument has been mixed with a high degree of clarity so that they are all represented equally on The Ghost of Cain. This means that the bass can not only be heard clearly, which is a rarity in rock music, but it proves to be an integral part of the New Model Army sound. There is also a noticeable influence from folk music on 51st State, All of This and Lovesongs while Poison Street and the dusty sounding Ballad feature the harmonica courtesy of Mark Feltham.

All of these inclusions play perfectly into the post-punk ethos of expanding beyond punk rock’s simplistic 3 chords of fury to explore more artistic possibilities while maintaining the same energy and passion.

Performers:

Justin Sullivan: Vocals, Guitar
Robert Heaton: Drums
Jason “Moose” Harris: Bass
Mark Feltham: Harmonica (Poison Street and Ballad)

External Links:

New Model Army Homepage
New Model Army on Wikipedia
The Ghost of Cain on Wikipedia

Apr
12

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Disturbed The Sickness 10th Anniversary Edition Review

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General Information:

Artist: Disturbed
Album: The Sickness (10th Anniversary Edition)
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Nu Metal
Released: 2000
Length: 54 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Giant Records, Reprise Records

Track List:

01. Voices
02. The Game
03. Stupify
04. Down with the Sickness
05. Violence Fetish
06. Fear
07. Numb
08. Want
09. Conflict
10. Shout 2000 (Tears for Fears Cover)
11. Droppin’ Plates
12. Meaning of Life
13. God of the Mind (Bonus Track)
14. A Welcome Burden (Bonus Track)

Disturbed The Sickness Cover

Disturbed The Sickness Cover

Disturbed The Sickness 10th Anniversary Edition Review

The Sickness is the debut studio album of American rock band Disturbed. Released at the height of the nu metal trend, it skyrocketed to success on the back of catchy yet simplistic guitar riffs that descended from the groove metal sound, which the band played under the name Brawl before singer David Draiman joined the band.

The lyrical themes of anger and violence as Brawl seeped over into the bands new incarnation as Disturbed and can clearly be seen just from the song titles. On the other hand, the musical abilities of each band member are played down severely when put next to the Brawl demos which had guitar solos, intense heavy metal drumming and much more audible bass.

So what did Disturbed gain from this seemingly one-sided trade off? The most obvious answer is David Draiman, a skilful singer with a knack for writing melodies that will always catch your ear whereas original singer Erich Awalt had a gruff voice that is reminiscent of Pantera’s Phil Anselmo. Other than that, guitarist Dan Donegan and drummer Mike Wengren also contributed different programmed sound effects to many songs, most notably on Voices, The Game, Fear and Meaning of Life.

David Draiman goes on to provide some unorthodox vocal performances that range from barking noises on Voices, Violence Fetish and Conflict to a Hebrew chant on Stupify and a questionable depiction of domestic abuse that takes the form of a shouted monologue in which he portrays himself being beaten by his mother before taking his revenge on her in the bridge of Down with the Sickness (“why did you have to hit me like that, mommy/don’t do it, you’re hurting me/…/you stupid, sadistic, abusive fucking whore/how would you like to see how it feels mommy/here it comes, get ready to die”).

There are 2 minor differences between the original release and the 10th anniversary edition. The first is the inclusion of the bonus tracks (although God of the Mind was included on the 2002 international reissue) and the second is that a few of the sound effects on selected songs have been altered. The significant difference is that the volume of the recording has been increased massively and it might result in ear fatigue because of this.

As Disturbed, the band forged their own sound within the popular nu metal scene which would deflect any comparisons to Pantera. The success that they capitalised on from their transformation led to them selling over 4 million copies of The Sickness which is probably due to the albums highly accessible sound while ignoring the tendency for nu metal bands to incorporate rapping and turntable scratches.

Performers:

David Draiman: Vocals
Dan Donegan: Guitars, electronics, programming
Steve Kmak: Bass guitar
Mike Wengren: Drums, percussion, programming

External Links:

Disturbed Homepage
Disturbed on Wikipedia | The Sickness on Wikipedia

Apr
1

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Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral Review

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General Information:

Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Album: The Downward Spiral
Genre(s): Industrial, Industrial Rock
Subgenres(s): N/A
Released: 1994
Length: 105 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Nothing Records, Interscope Records

Track List:

01. Mr. Self Destruct
02. Piggy
03. Heresy
04. March of the Pigs
05. Closer
06. Ruiner
07. The Becoming
08. I Do Not Want This
09. Big Man with a Gun
10. A Warm Place
11. Eraser
12. Reptile
13. The Downward Spiral
14. Hurt

Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral Cover

Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral Cover

Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral Review

The Downward Spiral is a volatile beacon of industrial music by Nine Inch Nails. Released 2 years after the break through Broken EP, it seems as though Trent Reznor forsook a lot of his rock influences in favour of raw industrial aggression which actually led to a more sonically diverse album.

Songs like Ruiner, I Do Not Want This and Eraser are all characterised by thumping industrial drum patterns, layers of processed sound effects that are incredibly hard to identify and have enough distortion and noise meshed together to make you think that you’ve blown out your speakers. The guitar is still present in these songs at times but the rock influence is significantly less pronounced when compared to Heresy or March of the Pigs, both of which have an easier structure to follow because a lot of the time the songs don’t follow a particularly strong verse/chorus format.

While challenging sounds are a given within the industrial music scene, one can’t help but question the need for or motive behind some parts of the album. Particularly the minor noise music influences heard at the end of Mr. Self Destruct, which becomes unlistenable when it devolves into a formless mess at the end, or the chaotic end to Big Man with a Gun that is so layered up and loud that the only thing that can be picked out clearly is Trent Reznor’s frenzied shouting.

This isn’t to say that the processed sounds and distortion don’t always work because for the most part it is done well and it plays a major part in making The Downward Spiral what it is. In contrast to the dense noise, Big Man with a Gun is followed up by A Warm Place which will keep you on edge the first time you hear it because you can’t help but expect a loud burst of noise to chime in out of nowhere. This doesn’t end up happening and it makes this short ambient piece the most reserved part of The Downward Spiral.

Despite the length of The Downward Spiral, it rarely feels as though anything gets dragged out and if anything should have been cut out the first thing that comes to mind are the inflammatory lyrics revolving around rape on Big Man with a Gun (“held against your forehead/I’ll make you suck it/maybe I’ll put a hole in your head”). Reptile and Hurt both have crass lyrics as well but aren’t comparable to Big Man with a Gun and aside from that, the rest seems to focus on inner turmoil one way or another and are delivered through shouts, whispers and singing – all of which get at least partially buried under the uncompromising music which was a surprising commercial success. The vocal highlight of The Downward Spiral has to be the cheerfully sarcastic singing on March of the Pigs when the piano is introduced briefly.

The technology used to produce this album has dated surprisingly well and without knowing beforehand, you can’t pinpoint it to a certain decade like you can with a lot of other electronically produced music. The Downward Spiral is the musical equivalent of a torrent of verbal abuse that encapsulates self-loathing surrounded by a relentless gourmet of industrial rhythms which makes it an ideal introduction to the genre.

Performers:

Trent Reznor: Vocals, all other instruments
Mark “Flood” Ellis: Hi-hat (Closer), synthesizer (The Becoming)
Chris Vrenna: Drums (Hurt), programming, sampling, additional drums (Burn)
Adrian Belew: Guitar (Mr. Self Destruct and The Becoming)
Danny Lohner: Guitar (Big Man with a Gun)
Andy Kubiszewski Drums (The Downward Spiral)
Stephen Perkins: Drum Loops (I Do Not Want This)

External Links:

Nine Inch Nails Homepage
Nine Inch Nails on Wikipedia | The Downward Spiral on Wikipedia

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