Anodyne "Lifetime of Gray Skies" CD
[Level-Plane]
It's been awhile since I heard anything from Anodyne, and I actually like this more than their last record. Stylistically it's still abrasive and grating in a sense, heavily based around rhythm, but the recording is far superior here to that of "The Outer Dark", and the songs tend to be a bit more concise too. The recording is a lot more cohesive, with thicker tones that stick together better without lacking clarity. Really all I'd change would be to turn the bass up a bit more since the rhythm section is such a large part of these tracks. As always the drum performance is rock solid with tons of frantic fills and tight patterns, which come through perfectly. I love the way the strained vocal screams are deep in against the guitars as well. As far as the writing, things tend to be fast and almost grinding at times, with that aforementioned emphasis on staggered rhythms and discordance. There are some great caustic melodies in "Portable Crematorium"; "In the Desert Sound Precedes Sight" is a bit more varied and subtly melodic as a whole; "Blood Meridian" (an instrumental) is far more improvisational and random for its lengthy 6+ minutes, which is honestly a boring lull in the thick of the record; etc. The other key instrumental, "Infernal Machine", is far different, using majorly distant drums and droning guitar squeals behind softer bass and clean guitars, making for what is by far the most distinct track herein, and one of the most powerful as well (simiarly to closer "Standing on the Beach", which is even quieter and more abstract). The layout keeps it very simple with high contrast red and black designs highlighted by a small amount of metallic silver and white (mostly text), and the front cover has a 3/4 foldover panel which is a nice little touch. The lyrics are fairly brief, but strike me as far more bluntly personal than what I recall hearing from the band in the past: "Whisper in my ear, Secrets I'll never know, I'll never tell, Do you ever think about what went wrong? I dream of flesh and death and suicide, Burning world, Burning angels in a burning world..." Good stuff. Definitely not the most diverse record out there, but a step forward from their last full-length, and a solid one at that. I do get a little tired of the similarities from track to track, but there are just enough dashes of variety to maintain a thread of interest throughout. They're really one of the better bands at this kind of stuff, because the approach is a lot more aggressive and acerbic than it plays out, which is actually a positive thing on many levels. (7/10)
Running time - 32:52, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Arctor, Portable Crematorium, Infernal Machine, In the Desert Sound Precedes Sight, Standing on the Beach]
Level-Plane Records - http://www.level-plane.com

This review has been displayed 1725 times.