Communic - Hiding From The World review
| Band: | Communic |
| Album: | Hiding From The World |
| Style: | Progressive heavy metal |
| Release date: | November 20, 2020 |
| A review by: | Dream Taster |
01. Plunder Of Thoughts
02. Hiding From The World
03. My Temple Of Pride
04. Face In The Crowd
05. Born Without A Heart
06. Scavengers Await
07. Soon To Be
08. Forgotten
It has been the year when most people have been forced to hide from the world, it is a good thing that Communic have not. The Norwegian fierce trio still resonates with me for their quality progressive thrash/heavy metal from the mid-2000s, when they were likened to bands such as Nevermore and, to a lesser extent, to Evergrey. 15 years after their brilliant debut album Conspiracy in Mind, surprisingly not much has changed. Nevermore may be no more but Communic are still Oddleif Stensland [guitars, vocals], Erik Mortensen [bass] and Tor Atle Andersen [drums]. They are back with their 6th full-length album Hiding From The World.
Throughout their career, these musicians have stayed true to their sound with mixed results. Their recent albums have not had the same success as early on. However, that's no reason to dismiss them altogether. So for the record, this record is no exception. Expect the usual epic 7 to 10 minute-long tracks with breaks and tempo changes to be the norm. Their sonic core remains in place: Ever tight rhythms, strong and powerful riffs, and Oddleif's vocals are astonishing as always. The fact that they manage to create and sustain this massive sound - and have been for a long time - as a trio is astounding.
However, as their overall style has not evolved too much since inception, there is a certain nostalgia that creeps up as the music rolls in. It is that wave of feelings I had a hard time interpreting upon first listen. Once I was able to reconcile what was happening, the songs started to grab me. Melodies started to sink in. Shortly thereafter, a thought started to take form: the overall mood is a slightly more reflective one than on their previous works. That atmosphere blossoms on the title track, it is strengthened by the excellent mid-tempo "Born Without a Heart", and affirmed by the closing duo of "Soon to Be" / "Forgotten", which constitutes what is essentially a heart-wrenching power ballad.
The heavier songs slotted before and in between do not break the spell. If anything, they evoke a sense of déjà-vu, which might explain my aforementioned nostalgia. "My Temple of Pride", which is probably the best of the bunch, would fit on 2006's Waves of Visual Decay. In the end, I can only observe how the slower tunes end up being the more intense ones. "Born Without a Heart" will likely emerge as the best composition for most listeners, whether newcomers or die-hard fans.
While the constant high energy that ensured their breakthrough years ago may be behind them, Communic's cohesion and the maturity of their songwriting are ever so strong. Sure, Hiding From The World is not perfect. But it does achieve its purpose, which was to prove that this sound is still relevant. It is. Overall all the boxes are ticked, so we should be glad for this album and let us all enjoy it like a fine wine; with a connoisseur's appreciation and with(out) moderation.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 9 |
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Written on 19.12.2020 by
Bringing you reviews of quality music and interesting questions such as: "A picture is worth a thousand words. How many words is a song worth?" I have only got so much patience and skills, you do the math. |
Comments
Comments: 4
Visited by: 87 users
| DarkWingedSoul Posts: 1392  |
Well written, this album wont change the world, but its fun to listen to 
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62135  |
Good written dude, i will check this out, seems band to check out.
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| tominator At best deranged Contributor Posts: 1064  |
I saw the title track pop up yesterday on YouTube and I recognised the cover art from your review, so I gave it a listen. Sounded pretty good to me, nothing too surprising, but enjoyable to listen to. Might give the whole album a listen one of these days. Love the review btw, gives me a clear idea of what I can expect.
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| frequenzangriff Posts: 280  |
Its not innovative, nor does it stand out, but its a tipical communic album and its sounds fantastic as such and this makes me like this band so much, the new album sounds recognizable and fresh at the same time
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