End of All "Paradise Burning" CD
[Venge]
I can't say I care for this. It's got a lot of potential, much like their last record did, but it's way too disjointed for me to deal with. The songs are short as hell, most less than two or three minutes, but they cram in a million different styles and changes, all of which tend to be on the aggressive side, so it's a mix of straight death metal, grindcore, chaotic metalcore, chunky breakdowns, and some southern fried sludge out of nowhere. And that, in and of itself, is really cool, but when you can't create a tangible two- or three-minute song out of it, there's a problem. The other main setback is the recording. The recording itself isn't bad, but the mix is really problematic, and I have a really hard time swallowing the drum tones, because they literally sound programmed 90% of the time. The guitar tone is okay, it's got a bite, as do the vocals, but the vocals are mixed way too fucking loud, and some of the irritating high-end shrieks are almost painful. I can't make out the bass very often, but rigid percussion thins everything out way too much as it is... "Digging for Bones" is one of the key tracks that has a central focus for its duration, without getting junked up with unnecessary twists and turns. Seriously, one minute they're doing the melodic Swedish thing, then it's onto a Suffocation riff, or a rhythmic chord progression with a sweet drum pattern behind it, etc. But it's a total mishmash of changes with no real direction in the end. They also use a lot of samples all over the place to introduce songs, and I think that's sort of stale and hinders the flow of the record as well. The layout looks pretty good. The color scheme is consistent, the logo looks cool, I like the font, etc. The lyrics are a tad hard to read, but it's worth it for the compact presentation of the text. Content wise many of the songs are personal, or at least they are on the surface, but a few key songs definitely indicate a larger message: "Society as a whole has nowhere to go, Only disease and greed fill our thoughts, Media controls the message through fear and propaganda, Do not enjoy what you do, Only enjoy what you receive in return..." I don't know, a handful of these songs could make a strong EP, but as a full-length there are a lot of small problems that add up to a bit of a mess. Technically speaking this is sound death metal based material with a good level of complexity and good riffs, but the songs don't deliver. (4/10)
Running time - 41:26, Tracks: 14
[Notable tracks: Digging for Bones, This is Where it Ends]
Venge Records - http://www.vengerecords.com

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