It's been awhile since I listened to anything from this Norwegian act, and it seems their work is getting slightly darker and more unbalanced with each effort on some levels. This disc is certainly more of an overt industrial metal affair at times, with "Abstract Morality Junction" going so far as to be created entirely by electronic percussion and synths with subdued vocals that are delivered in sort of a spoken growl/shout (honestly it's one of the weaker selections herein, but it's a bit of a twist regardless). I say it's more overtly "industrial" as a whole because the end result is a little more tangible as far as some of the songwriting goes, it's not as harsh as some of their past work, but the electronic elements still play a larger role, and the music is more midpaced and thundering, while still jumbled and chaotic on occasion. "Fall of Fate" is more spacious and balanced in style, driven by the rhythm section with lots of grating industrial noises as background texture behind the guitars; whereas "Mekanizm" takes its stuttered rhythmic groove and backing synths into a Fear Factory-esque direction with the band's more commonly aggressive vocal barks. Rhythmically this is also a rather bland composition, though some of the dual guitar layering that surfaces from time to time is really effective. I've never been a particular fan of industrial music, so it can take me some time to get into it or appreciate it, but with this record Red Harvest is definitely touching on the facets of the genre that I can live with. There are some overly groovy chord progressions here though, and some of the songwriting is definitely not as forceful as their prior work. "Teknocrate", for example, uses some faster speeds and a few chord progressions that are almost more of a hardcore/punk kind of thing, but the song's 50/50 - equal parts great and equal parts uninteresting crap. It's kind of a tossup with a lot of these songs, and I'm somehow taken aback by some of the similarities I could cite between this record and Fear Factory circa "Obsolete" (though this is a less consistent affair, and one that never gets decidedly "catchy" or overly melodic). "Synthesize My DNA" is one of the stranger pieces, with glitchy song constructions and more technical riffing that hits on some post-black metal dissonance with lots of chaotic layering and more of a cut and paste kind of feel... not an exceptional track, but definitely one of the more creative and curious pieces herein. The thickness of the recording is definitely something that helps them out. The drumming is a little too taut, but handled well within the context of so many layers of noises and uses of electronic percussion. The guitar tone and vocals, however, are quite dense and well executed, which adds a lot of power to the songs and keeps things resonant - unlike most industrial tinged acts that go for those thin and sort of ragged tones. The bass doesn't play a huge role, and there are some gaps in the mix as a result, but for the most part it sounds effective. I'm not into the typeface used for their logo and the title of the record, but other than that I'm way into the simplicity of the layout, all done in deep red text with monochromatic reddened images that all have an industrial sort of bent (chains, construction sites, girders, etc.). The lyrics are a mix of bleak commentary on the present world and a sci-fi sort of vibe, the latter of which I'm not into at all, but I can definitely appreciate aspects of the former approach. "Time is slipping away, Life is slipping away, And we all float down here, Like soulless sheep waiting for guidance, We all float down here, Abstract morality junction, We all float down here." I'm torn on this one. I'm a fan of this band, and there are some cool songs/elements here, but in its entirety I kind of find the disc to be somewhat boring. Perhaps it's transitional? I don't know... it's definitely heading in some different directions without straying too far from where they've been, but I can't get into a lot of the songs. I do think they have a really strong grasp on how to effectively use these industrial influences, but the songwriting seems to be suffering a little on this one. Opener "Anatomy of the Unknown" and the title track seem to be among the most focused pieces (along with the destructive "Symbol of Decay", which suffers minimally due to an overly long running time of 7:46), combining an energetic metal sound with just the right level of backing synths and sounds to create an atmospheric edge... but a lot of the in between falters back and forth.
[Nocturnal Art]
Running time - 40:46, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Anatomy of the Unknown, Symbol of Decay, Internal Punishment Programs]
Nocturnal Art Productions - http://www.nocturnalart.com
