Anomy "Disquietude" CD
[self-released]
This Colorado act has been around since 1992, but this is the first I've heard of 'em. Their style is a strange mix of straight metal that's a bit slower and darker than average, at times reminiscent of doom metal or something a bit more atmospheric/slightly progressive, but never getting too technical or anything like that, and with vocals that are sort of laidback shouts or singing that almost leans towards speaking in a sense. I think the vocals are the main weakness here simply because they lack emotion and feel restrained. The songs aren't that bad, I just think they need to speed things up a bit and work with a little bit more energy and diversity. A lot of the songs tend to sound similar to one another, and the longer tracks (six to eight minutes) are too lengthy to really make an impact. "Cyclothymia" is also a bit more stripped down and groove-laden, and I don't like that direction nearly as much as the slow and subtly melodic thrash types of riffs they often employ. The tempos are definitely too damn slow, though. A lot of times I'll hear a riff that I know would be so much better if it was played at double the speed. They just need to balance their approach. Hell, "Bleeding Once Again" even has some metallic hardcore sounding chord progressions going on, which seems strange, but sort of works!? The acoustic guitars and distant singing in "Epilogue" are actually very cool... making it the one track on the disc that I feel is emotionally on point and a bit more interesting to listen to. The production's not bad for a self-released effort. The drums are a little bit loose, but they could definitely be worse. The bass is there in the distance, and guitars are slightly out front. The guitar tone is suitably clear, and I think the clean tone is great, but the distortion needs more kick and emphasis to add a little power to their writing. I think it's good that the vocals are placed slightly farther back in the mix as well. Not bad. I'm not sure how I feel about the visual aspects of the release. I do like the colors and the typefaces, and the crispness of the cover design is nice, but the backside of the booklet being devoted entirely to a three-panel spread of the band (one panel per member) over some strange background texture is sort of cheesy, not to mention a waste of space. The lyrics are hard to read because they're crammed together on two panels, but I do like the way the arrangement looks, and I think that's a fair tradeoff. I'm not particularly interested in the content per se, so... "...all I can remember is pain and regret happiness has passed me I no longer look for love don't expect to live a long time but I've lived long enough." I think my copy of the CD might be defective or something, because as it plays it does this weird thing where every five minutes or so it goes silent, even though the counter keeps counting, and if I skip back there is indeed music during these odd "dropout" moments. I don't know what the deal with that is? I've never experienced such a strange glitch before. I'm not sure what to make of this band. On one hand I'm thinking, "These guys have been around for over 10 years, they should be better than this." But then again, I've never heard what they've done in the past, so perhaps they're just in a transitional period as they grow or try to branch out? I don't know, but I think the style exemplified here needs a good deal of work before it reaches a higher level. (3/10)
Running time - 47:44, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Epilogue]
Anomy - http://www.anomy.org

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