Cephalic Carnage - Xenosapien review
| Band: | Cephalic Carnage |
| Album: | Xenosapien |
| Style: | Grindcore |
| Release date: | May 28, 2007 |
| A review by: | Herzebeth |
01. Endless Cycle Of Violence
02. Divination & Violation
03. Molting
04. Touched By An Angel
05. Vaporized
06. Heptarchy
07. G.lobal O.verhaul D.evice
08. Let Them Hate So Long As They Fear
09. The Omega Point
10. Megacosm Of The Aquaphobics
11. Ov Vicissitude
12. Hidden Track
Where was I?...oh yeah I was trying to stay at least steady and standing after that Pig Destroyer assault, damn that was amazing. But something chilled me out and I can't even remember what was it, I don't even recall tossing a Dillinger Escape Plan in my stereo and this is just annoying...hell! I don't own a Dillinger Escape Plan CD in the first place...so what is this? *opening the CD tray*...OH MY FUCKING GOD!
Cephalic Carnage did not only made me sane again, they now sound like that Jersey based Mathcore group, what the hell happened with the insanity and asshole-ness of "Exploiting Dysfunction"? I can even love and miss the mid-paced greatness of the soft "Anomalies"...but this is just way too much, the band tried so hard to be the most technical and complex outfit in our beloved Grind scene and now they only sound like a cracked Burnt By The Sun or a better The Red Chord (no, that's not saying much, so shut up)
Where's the Grindcore? I need unspeakable riffs and grotesque structures; there's even that high-pitched guitar-work that sounds like "wiruwiruwiiiii" in a very Spastic Ink or Sleep Terror way, I'm so disappointed that I'm sure not even porn will give me a boner right now...I don't want to smoke weed, I don't like drugs, actually I hate drugs...but it seems it could be the only way for me to not see the sucky side of this album...I'll pass.
The booklet is something amazing though, the last time I saw such a complex booklet was when I bought that Fight Club special edition DVD and it had a pop-up pamphlet inside, this is similar but with hidden secrets and shit...but what happens when you drop a hot cheese nacho with chilli on it? You won't have a cool booklet anymore as the cheese and the chilli stained the paper and it almost fell apart for the juice, so...half a booklet and no cool grinding music is useless...USELESS!
It's hard to rate an album like "Xenosapien", the guys play amazingly well, they are great with their instruments and they did a good job in songwriting, but what's the use if the final product is just plain mucus? Maybe I'm over reacting a little bit, but I was the biggest Cephalic Carnage fan ever, and now they delivered an album with half their usual quality and half their standards...it's just a pain in the ass.
Ok...let's think things through for a second, this is actually not a bad album, is just that they lined towards a very different style of Metal and...fuck this, let's play that "Phantom Limb" again...
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Herzebeth | 08.07.2007
Comments
Comments: 12
Visited by: 109 users
| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Thwey have ALWAYS sounded quite a bit like The Dillinger Escape Plan though so nothing new there 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Herzebeth Posts: 5537  |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 08.07.2007 at 18:24 whaaaaaa? no man, remember their "Exploiting Dysfunction" and "Conforming To Abnormality" days? ok ok ....just try Halls Of Amenti, you'll see they had nothing to do with "The Dillinger Escape Plan" whatsoever...it's the truth...
----
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| Syk myspace/bonerama Posts: 1504  |
Wow, I was definitely expecting a higher score from you but that's a great review there, good job again 
---- death ? thrash ? death/doom/prog ? Hail Zoldon! he's not the kind you have to [url=../bands/album.php?album_id=28982]wind up[/url] on Sundays
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| Deadsoulman Elite Posts: 8004  |
Hahahaaa I knew it! I fucking knew it! I was sure you'd write that kind of review for this album, given the complete change of direction of the band. I for one really like this album a lot, it's still complex and technical as hell and a bit more accessible and catchy (I suppose the accessible and catchy part is the one that will make the fans cringe). The songwriting is amazing (G.O.D.!!!!). And that "Touched By An Angel" song really made my day Fine album, I like it better than Anomalies 
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Herzebeth on 09.07.2007 at 01:42 Yes, even in Exploiting Dysfunction and Conforming To Abnormality I can clearly hear the Calculating Infinity era Dillinger influences 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Deadsoulman on 09.07.2007 at 14:30 Yeah I agree with you that this is a great album. It is their most mature yet. And I would dare say it is also their best by far. This is much more focussed than their earlier works, plus their songwriting has also imrpoved a great deal.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Visioneerie Urban Monster Posts: 810  |
Being a fan of technical death or plain death metal, the band has made a great change for me even though i liked their old stuff. With Xeno they define the word Brutal 
---- Any man can stand adversity, but to test his character give him power - A. Lincoln
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| Herzebeth Posts: 5537 |
Written by Deadsoulman on 09.07.2007 at 14:30 Don't know why but I was surely waiting for your comment with the exact same words...well exept for the "fucking" as you don't usually use the F word a lot in here lol....though, one thing is certain, I surely agree with you in the complex part, but that doesn't necessarily means "better"...Marcel said it's more mature, why "technical" means Mature? I say "Anomalies" is far more mature than this album, "Anomalies" is not even Grindcore anymore, it's plain Death with "Technical" APPROACHES...this new one is all about exploiting the high-pitched guitars and that doesn't equals good songwriting, I think Anomalies is far more intricate than this one as a matter of fact...this is like hearing a Dillinger Escape plan Wannabe  IMO... BESIDES...can't you see how most of their fans lost interest? being the praised band that it was and with such a solid fanbase (people into Cephalic Carnage was also a fan of monuments like Atheist, Cynic, Morbid Angel, etc.) now became a weak thing with fans who are also into Dillinger Escape Plan, The Red Chord, Burnt By The Sun and the likes...TRENDERS in fewer words (yes, it's actually well known that the technical edge of bands like Leng Tche, and the aforementioned bands is trendy)
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| Dangerboner Lactation Cnslt Posts: 7262  |
I had very low expectations for this because Anomolies really let me down. I still preordered it though, and it turned out to be better than I thought. It´s definitely not as good as their first albums, but it´s still intense death metal and Lenzig´s voice sounds better than on the previous album.
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| Infurnace Posts: 948  |
I know it's not really Grindcore anymore, but I must say that I really enjoy this album. It is a lot better album than "Anomalies", which was a little bit of a let down for me (it's not bad, but not very good either).
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| Deadsoulman Elite Posts: 8004 |
Written by Herzebeth on 09.07.2007 at 18:27 I agree Anomalies is more intricate than this one, but that doesn't mean it is better. I don't like technicality for the sake of being technical, I like catchiness in music above anything else (well, to some extent of course, I mean I like remembering something more than just an impression when I listen to something), and in this regard Anomalies didn't really fulfill all my needs. I find the songwriting much more memorable on Xenosapien. About that Dillinger Escape Plan wannabe thing, you're just exaggerating. Breathe... Written by Herzebeth on 09.07.2007 at 18:27 That... Honestly I don't give a shit I like the music I like because I find it fulfilling, not because the fans like it. Seriously, never trust a fan. Fans are the first ones to run away throwing their arms in the air screaming as soon as their favourite band changes a slight bit. Fans are the least objective persons in the world. I know it, I'm a fan of a few bands myself.And... Check my favourite bands, man. Yes, Atheist, Cynic, AND Burnt By The Sun. That doesn't mean a thing. Posers can like great bands too
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| ioannisk Posts: 75  |
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