TRACKLIST:
1.Intro
2.Incarceration
3.Loner's Reflection
4.Cu(n)t & Twist
5.The Man Eater
6.Carnage Provoked
7.Black Night
8.The Omnipotent Torture King
9.Welcome to Our Killzone
10.Necromantica
11.I am Sick I Want to Kill
12. XXXIII
TRACK BY TRACK ANALYSIS:
2. ''Incarceration''
I have to underline the fact that this album's production leaves a lot to be desired.I have a strong impression that this is an unfinalized mix of the track due to something that seems like a complete distance between the drums and practically everything else happening in the song,sound-wise.Musicianship-wise,these guys are very skilled at their craft,even though I must admit I am no fan of deathcore.Now I might get crucified for this,but I sat through the whole song,and found no element that particularly stood out in my ears when it comes to defining ANIMA as a band of its own rather than just one of the many of the gazillion bands of that same area of the scene.Not that I expect every single band to manage to reinvent the wheel,but I at least expect them to have at least one particular trait of their sound retaining my attention enough to keep me coming back to THEIR material instead of any other band's.I dare hope it is still yet to reach my ears.
3. ''Loner's Reflection''
Even though I was only a BIT less bored with this one track than the previous,I do believe in there lies a conscious effort to make the song slightly more nuanced than just one huge breakdown and a go-nowhere solo thrown into the void.This song has phases,and a personnality.It is one highly venomous display of passionate and furious drumming.The riffage in there is nowhere near original,but I must admit it follows more of a clear direction than on the previous track and it does have a highly threatening sound that makes the track one to fully enjoy,but it will still take a lot more than that to get me to come back to it repeatedly.
4. ''Cu(n)t & Twist''
Most definitely,this album keeps on getting better as it progresses.I'm pretty psyched to see there are some more regular brutal death metal sounding moments on this disc,and they sometimes do take the front of the stage,pushing away the obsessive focus on breakdowns for a breath of fresh air that was extremely needed from my end.This is a highly groovy track that wouldn't be out of place on a Dying Fetus album.Being a very loyal fan of the latter,I can only say this makes ANIMA score quite a few points in my book.I am pleasantly surprised.
5. ''The Man Eater''
Quite interesting to consider that this track's main riff sounds a bit death-thrashy on the edges.I never expected to find such a riff buried somewhere within this effort.It is quite a considerable driving force for this song as it remains omnipresent within the hardcore enveloppe that clearly packages this band's sound.I definitely appreciate the nod to different sub-genres and the ability of blending it in within the core of the identity of this album.It makes for quite a violent and original-sounding assault that grabs me a thousand times more efficiently where the album failed to even retain the slightest of my attention in the beginning.
6. ''Carnage Provoked''
This one track is a focus on the band's rootsound.Even though it is a return to flat-out deathcore,I do appreciate the presence of a solid main riff,and the same type of threatening serpentine guitar work that made tracks like ''Loner's Reflection'' one nifty sort of volcano erupting on slow-motion.This is pretty much the best metaphor I have to offer when it comes to describing this type of deathcore.Slow,vicious.It does work.It does NOT reivent the mold,but it does work wonders.
7. ''Black Night'' This is an interlude.
8. ''The Omnipotent Torture King''
Very catchy slab of perfectly-executed deathgrind.Yes,I said deathgrind.This song is another highly relieving departure from the Tales of a Thousand Breakdowns defining the beginning of the record.Memorable main riff,moments of pure fucking technical chaos,haunting wall of sounds that get you craving for another bigger fix,only to have you find out it can't possibly get any bigger than that.
9. ''Welcome to Our Killzone''
This is a fairly equal alternance between furious thrash metal induced passages and the usual deathcore breakdowns.Within such a thrashy context though,said breakdowns are a much easier pill to swallow.This track's absolute sense of emphasyzing the importance of the melodies easily makes it my favourite song on the record.Each and every riff pummells my skull and remains etched upon my brain.This is most exactly what I crave hearing on each and every album I review : a skillful blend of sub-genres that are ever-so-rarely blended together with this much talent.This is one track I will definitely promote.
10. ''Necromantica''
Smashing brutality-wise,I fucking love this track.Riffage-wise,I am less than impressed with this one.The guitars have managed to take my attention in much greater ways than that in some moments of the album.That's the jist of it.
11. ''I Am Sick I Want to Kill''
This track quite surprisingly starts at a relatively down-tempo pace,making it a very well constructed progressive deathgrind win.Yet another song that took me aback with its raw and destructive approach to technical songwriting.So far this album has been a build-up,and I expect quite a grand finale.
12. ''XXXIII''
Against my expectations,this track is most definitely not the best of the whole affair.It really does kind of stretch out to no end,with much more emphasis on the sound effects than the actual substance of the music in itself.
RATING: 7.5/10 While I was far from convinced this record would ever manage to do anything for me,it has taken me on a road of highly pleasant and consuming surprises with its nod to other quality sub-genres and its technical edge that got more and more obvious as I visited each track.This is most definitely an interesting journey into the dephts of brutality and one I might even occasionally come back to in moments of intense lust for pure sonic chaos.Impressive effort.Give a chance to this album.It starts out on a flat note but builds into quite a mean fucking monster.
-Noch
I will stream the track ''Welcome to Our Killzone'' on this Saturday March 13th installment of my radio show,''C.R.O.C. Underground Metal''.You can tune in at 7 PM EST on www.radioquebec.biz or www.frankoradio.com.The re-broadcast airs on Sunday,also at 7 PM EST,on the same two channels.A downloadable version of the installment will be uploaded to my MySpace page the following Monday.
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