Disinformation Machine "Etchings" CD
[self-released]
After a two-minute ambient prelude with some piano textures and whatnot these guys launch into a lengthy excursion of dissonant metalcore, and I have to say, I thought it was gonna be good, but I don't like it. The songwriting is definitely not generic, I'll hand 'em that. They do mix singing and screaming and clean passages with distorted rhythms, but there are no trendy death metal riffs or jarring harmonics or any chaotic junk or anything. It's all pretty rhythmic, sometimes bordering on sludgy, and the clean parts are fairly restrained. It's just bland songwriting. It's not powerful or memorable or energetic at all. The aggressive vocals are alright, but the singing is really halfassed and powerless as well. I don't even know what to say about it, literally nothing jumps out at me. Sometimes they get pretty heavy ("Diminished"), sometimes they lull along very quietly... but it's all so boring, it's really hard to describe. I'm actually surprised at just how bland it is, I can't make sense of it. The recording is also a big setback, as, while not terribly far off, it's too muddy, lacking detail and overall punch. It just needs more clarity and roundness. The bass tone is pretty smooth, and some of the percussion is great, but the guitars and vocals are a little lifeless in that regard. Visually this looks pretty damn cool, however. Everything is consistent and somewhat minimal, and I like that there's no text on the front cover at all. The lyrics are compactly formatted and deal exclusively with personal topics, though nothing too blatant: "Telepathy is not extrasensory. It's the ability to see the patterns and their predictability. Every season the same old thing. Over and over - all over again..." I also have to point out that I hold the utmost respect for this band selling this CD for a mere $6ppd, because this is a totally professional effort. So that's cool, but as explained above... I'm not into this. I don't want to insult these guys at all, as they're trying and I'm pretty confident that they have it in 'em to do some damage, but my honest call is that this is a pretty weak disc. Sorry... (4/10)
Running time - 42:18, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: none of them really leave a mark]
Disinformation Machine - http://www.disinformationmachine.com

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