Apocryphal Voice "The Sickening" CD
[Rage of Achilles]
This three-song EP from this Finnish duo brings forth 22 minutes of discordant modern "experimental" black metal. It's not exactly black metal per se, but a lot of the riffing has that eerily melodic ring to it that a lot of the Norwegian bands were hitting on a few years ago. It's generally moderately paced, and the vocals are just throaty screams with some sneering whispers and such at times. I'm not that into the way synths are used, as often those passages just pop in out of nowhere. The overdramatic spoken vocals get obnoxious as well, especially when they coincide with the aforementioned synth elements. Other than that I can appreciate this, though. There are some great winding guitar riffs that I enjoy a lot. My only gripe is that the songs are too slow and similar to one another, especially considering their long and generally unwavering approaches. There aren't many tempo changes, and many of the riffs tend to sound quite similar to one another, so really the EP could just as well be one long, monotonous song as it could be three individual tracks. The production is alright, but sort of holds this material back a little. The drums are of course rigid and machinated sounding for whatever reason, but the bass guitar is audible enough to help hold them in check. The vocals sound okay to me, as do the electronic textures, I just think the guitar tone needs work. In general it's okay, but the texture has a digital sort of sheen to it sometimes, which can sound fluttery and out of place. The mix isn't bad, it's just that the tones tend to be thinner than they could be. The layout has a strange sort of digital/futuristic look that combines related imagery with sort of worn, rugged industrial landscapes, though it's all done digitally so it tends to look fairly "clean" regardless. I'd say that perhaps this is a concept EP as the lyrics, while not too specifically related, tend to repeat similar ideas of sickness, poison, etc., going from birth in the first song, to the mention of an old man in the final track. Some lines are better than others, but there is potential: "What are the goals of this war between dreams and reality? Ideals of the erased are the most charming ones, but this world seems to be attracted by greyness..." For a duo, they handle their duties well, but the songwriting needs more variety for me to really become interested. (5/10)
Running time - 21:51, Tracks: 3
[Notable tracks: A Sickening Sight]
Rage of Achilles - http://www.rageofachilles.com

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