Cryonic "Artificial Dreams" CD
[self-released]
Not unlike Cryonic's last demo, this disc starts out with a brief and what I would call unnecessary synth introduction that walks the line between some sort of darkwave/gothic musical vibe and a little dark ambient feel before abruptly ending and giving way to three tracks of somewhat crude atmospheric industrial metal that's very heavy on the electronics. The material is driven largely by programmed drums and various synth textures (some more musical than others) that have been arranged around distant distorted guitars and vocals that are barely more up front by comparison. The songwriting isn't so bad, there are some memorable choruses (see "Digital Encryption") and interesting passages, but as a whole I'm unmoved by the whispered vocals or the half-shouting. The all out singing vocals are actually very well done (and by "all out" I mean energetic, because the singing in "Shore" is completely lacking in energy and comes off as rather weak and boring), and I enjoy that aspect of the disc a lot. But I'm not really that fond of about 75% of the music, and the recording and mixing could have been handled with a bit more detail. I definitely dislike the clinical and flimsy guitar tone, so I would work on that as well as work on finding a more emphatic location for the guitars in the mix. The rest of the mix isn't so bad, it's just muddy, and I feel like details are being lost. For instance, sometimes I can make out basslines, but at times the bass vanishes entirely, and I can't tell if that's intentional or not because the layers of synthesized tones are sort of fluttering all over the place. It's a little confusing. The drum machine is fairly well used, though. I don't have a problem with that. The CD-R comes in a slim jewel case with a two-sided insert printed in full color that looks like a color xerox. I don't like the fact that the front and back of the insert have artwork that has no connection to one another, and the text is pretty sloppy and pixilated, but the cover looks okay. I can't tell what it is, but it looks okay. Not good, mind you, but okay. All that's included is a tracklist, an email address, and recording dates. Nothing more. I don't know... I can still see potential here, but it's not doing anything for me. I'm not sure what I would recommend, realistically speaking. Ideally I think a full lineup and more suitable recording conditions would make an enormous difference, but these things aren't always possible. I've never been a big fan of much "industrial" type music anyway, and even though this is a weird mix of genres that isn't directly industrial, it's still leaving me disinterested for the most part. (3/10)
Running time - 16:07, Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: Digital Encryption]
Cryonic - cryonicworld@hotmail.com

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