Crisis "Like Sheep Led to Slaughter" CD
[The End]
Having never been a big Crisis fan, I was still interested in checking this "comeback" out as the band has always been intriguing to me, and a mere few steps away from really impressing me. But, once again, I'm just not able to truly get into this. And, for the most part, as usual, it's because of bandleader Karyn Crisis' vocals. Don't get me wrong, she's incredibly versatile, and most of her vast array of vocal deliveries are pretty fucking vicious, but I hate the way she switches up vocal styles every few lines, regardless of whether or not it really makes sense against the musical backdrop. I'm also generally turned off by her singing voice, as it never really pans out as forcefully as her aggressive styles, and the occasional shrieks/squeals she unloads are nothing short of abysmal. Musically this is heavily rhythmic material with a lot of quirky chord progressions and thick dissonance, never getting into too many odd time signatures or anything, but not staying too linear either. Aside from a few unnecessary uses of singing vocals that fall flat, "Nomad" is one of the strongest tracks, opening with a strange middle eastern sounding clean part before plowing through some of the darkest rhythms and more interesting percussive arrangements of the disc. "Secrets of the Prison House" is also a bit more sinister, bringing in a sludgier center, and the final minute or so is a fucking massively intense close. And the singing that opens "Exit Catacombs", contrasted by wild screams, is actually very effective - making for one of the most destructive tracks, mixing pounding slow rhythms with just a touch of dissonance and a little doominess. It took me a few spins to get used to the recording (handled by Billy Anderson), but for the most part I like. The drums are too dry, which is nice for cranking out natural tones, but they lack a little oomph as a result. I'd also like to hear more definition and presence to the bass, as right now it sort of vanishes just behind the guitars and leaves a gap in front of the percussion. I definitely think the vocals are overpowering though, drawing more attention to even the minorly annoying nuances of the performance. They should fall back in a little more, especially during some of the layering parts. The guitars sound pretty good, though. I'm not that into the visuals here, surprisingly. The artwork consists mostly of the band members' faces and some brutal looking blades faded in amongst bleak textures, with a few arrangements of vertebrae appearing at times, but it's all a bit too computerized for me. And the text, which is done in a sort of handwritten font, is quite fucking hard to read, which is frustrating because I do enjoy some of the lyrics. "I can hear the dogs in their hysteria, salivating for the taste of our rotten failure. Brutality of flesh and bone, Making enemies where there were none, Gangs of god are on the move, To bleed the slain in shallow tombs, You can be my cradle and I your grave..." Not bad. In the end they could've made a damn good EP out of this, but there are too many bland tracks herein that lack the focus and strength. (6/10)
Running time - 46:39, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Nomad, Secrets of the Prison House, Exit Catacombs]
The End Records - http://www.theendrecords.com

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