Communic - The Bottom Deep - guest review
Communic - The Bottom Deep - guest review
Tracklist
01. Facing Tomorrow02. Denial
03. Flood River Blood
04. Voyage Of Discovery
05. In Silence With My Scars
06. My Fallen
07. Destroyer Of Bloodlines
08. Wayward Soul
09. The Bottom Deep
10. In Union We Stand [bonus]
Guest review by
R'Vannith January 07, 2012
All members of the band are performing to their high standard once again but this time they're not punching out the same complex thrash-groove infused progressive metal. Each track bears the cleverness of previous efforts yet fails to proceed anywhere; the catchy guitar work and vocals of Oddleif are collected here in a garbled approach which fails to leave any lasting impression. There are memorable moments, but the problem is they aren't fashioned into the complex yet coherent tracks which slowly build on themselves. The simple fact that the tracks are shorter on this effort isn't the sole reason for this but it is the emphasis they seem to place on the heavier aspect to their sound which seems to have detracted from the progressive element; no grandiose build-ups here but rather shorter bursts of occasionally attractive riffs repeated over and again without leading anywhere.
Tracks like "Voyage of Discovery" and "In Silence With My Scars" severely impact upon the overall impression of the album, offering little but padding and bring down some of the more commendable songs. That said there are glimpses of past glory, "Denial" being the outstanding example sounding more on par with previous albums.
On its own merits the album fails to deliver any reward for repeated listens; sure the album's got that even heavier groove-laden sound but it trudges along without guiding you to any truly great moments that were so abundant on efforts such as Waves of Visual Decay. What is commendable however is the change in direction; this album doesn't exhibit a lack of new ideas and it is in fact littered with them. The tracks are all the more punchier yet The Bottom Deep represents both a breath of fresh air as well as leaving the band in obviously unfamiliar territory, their new focus not quite bearing fruit.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 5 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by R'Vannith | January 07, 2012
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments:
5
Visited by
45 users
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Posts: 106  |
Posts: 106
That's pretty harsh. So far I've only been listening to Wayward Soul, but thought it actually was a beautiful piece of art that totally met my own expectations. Hard to believe the rest of the album would be that dull.
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 Posts: 3099 |
Posts: 3099 Written by quirin on 08.01.2012 at 11:41 Wayward Soul is a fairly decent track, one of the stronger ones I found. It's also one of the only songs which managed to grab my attention, many others have clever bits and pieces but just sound incoherent and mismatched to me.
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Posts: 266  |
Posts: 266
Ouh so bad... loved the 2 first works of these guys... still have to check this last one but hopes aren't high anymore 
---- http://enumaelis.blogspot.com/
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 Posts: 1342 |
Posts: 1342
Your review is dead on. Something is dreadfully missing on this album compared to their previous efforts.
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 Posts: 1122 |
Posts: 1122
Spot on, you gave me an idea what to vote for the biggest letdown of the year. "Wayward Soul" is so big a standout it's not even funny.
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