Having previously dabbled in naming songs in French, such as "Je n'en connais pas la fin" on ADOM and "Départe" (among others) on The Galilean Satellites, as well as Latin ("Temet Nosce" on Wake/Lift), this time the band turned to Japanese and each track on The Anaesthete has a double title, one in Japanese and one in English, separated by a slash. This all reeks of pretentiousness but I'll spare you the speech on this. So basically the titles all look something like this: "In & Yo / Dualities of the Way", making the track listing look like some meditation manual or something. Not a great first impression, but mind you this is before you actually hear the product.
And while it may have been the case for some of their music in the past, for the most part the music on this album is certainly nothing to meditate to. I was really taken aback by A Determinism of Morality, which was melodic and emotional for the most part and harsh and heavy in between, but it's great to see the band take a new direction (to an extent). The Anaesthete seems to be Rosetta's heaviest and gnarliest work to date. It's also nice to see the band stray from the usual song structure form they followed so closely on the last album, (heavy part last) and mix it up a little. That formula did wonders on the previous album though, but this time they don't hesitate to start off with the low tones and distortion, something they haven't tried much out before (of which Myo is a good example). They've until this album saved the metal until last, post-rocking their way to a heavy climax, which I happened to love on ADOM. Using the heaviness so sparingly has also meant that when they actually go heavy, it really is heavy. That is however aided by the fact that the guitarist has somehow found a way to make the guitar tone sound even thicker and deeper than the bass.
So this time around, it's in a sense business as usual for Rosetta, except not quite. They do continue the sound the found for themselves on ADOM (which to me is where they really found a successful sound for themselves), but they further elaborate on it, fortunately. In parts this album does not surprise at all, and parts of it could definitely be on ADOM and fit perfectly, but in other places there is definite innovation (for Rosetta in any case). I can't help but think that unlike the last album, this one is solid if unspectacular for the most part. The first track for example starts off with a couple of great melodies, but after that you find yourself just thinking "yeah this is pretty good. Not great, but good". Which perhaps says a bit less about this album than it does about them having really made a fantastic one last time around.
What this album does offer however that the previous one does not is more on the darker, heavier and eerier side, and this is where things really get interesting. A prime example of that sort of newfound bleaker sound is "Ku". It starts off like your run of the mill Rosetta song but turns into something vast and bleak and completely different to what Rosetta have offered hitherto in their career. There is though a slight nod toward the second track on The Galilean Satellites, but the dynamics and sound of that song are completely different from "Ku". And fortunately for all of us they don't just dabble in the dark side when they "turn the power on". If you've listened to either this album or the previous one, you'll know what I mean when I say that. That is when the guitarist turns the distortion on and starts playing the thicker three strings on the guitar instead of the thinner three, and the drums become louder. This time around they play more with the darker feelings without always going full blast. On the previous album all the chapters where the guitar is clean and with delay were reserved for more cutesy, pretty melodies (don't get me wrong though, I was completely hooked on it). This time around there are no such reservations, although there is certainly plenty of cutesy, pretty melodies on this album.
One thing I definitely do not like on this album is the (judging by this album and the last anyway) obligatory clean singing part that comes around once per album. On this one it's on "Hodoku" and while it's a different person singing than last time around, it's the same sort of whiny, cheesy, corny, boring "I'm so emotional about something" singing as was on the part on last album. I am however not impartial since I'm never a fan of clean singing in extreme music (or usually not anyway), so perhaps you should be the judge yourself. You'd expect the clean vocals to be a nice break from the screamed ones, since the main vocalist (while solid as always) can be a bit monotonous and repetitive, but no. The main vocalist only has one "setting" or style for his vocals it seems but he's pretty good so it's alright. The clean singing part does nothing however to take a break from the screamed style. That's where the lengthy instrumental sections on this album come in handy, which means you don't really get tired of the vocalist despite the repetitive approach.
Another downside of this album (they aren't that many though) is the last track, "Shugyo". It starts off by painting a very dark picture, but as it goes along, nothing more really happens. There isn't that much structure or evolvement (is that a word?) and in the end it's basically like making a great stage but not having any theatre-work on it (which is of course an art in and of itself but I hope you get what I mean). It's like they've missed a great opportunity, it feels as if they could've done so much more with the basis they'd built.
One thing however I definitely do like on this album is the drumming. A lot of the clean melodies the guitarist produces could certainly lend themselves to some pretty pedestrian drumming, but hey, not from this guy. On "A Determinism of Morality" you could hear him playing cleverly around with the double kicker during some quieter clean parts. I don't know about you but when I think of double kick drumming I think of the biggest extremes of metal, full blast, loud noises and the double kick in constant motion (think Dimmu Borgir for example). Rarely however do I myself at least hear this sort of clever play with quieter music. This time around I didn't notice any clever double kicking, but I did notice the way the guy uses his snare. Since I'm however a novice when it comes to drumming, I can't really describe what he's doing (speaking technique-wise) but what I can tell you is that it does wonders for some of the guitar parts on the album. Not to say they'd be boring but it's the age-old truth which needs repeating: Good drumming can do sooooo much for a riff.
I have to say overall that I'm really happy with what these guys have done here, since I am a definite fan of the dark side of music. However (comparing this one with the previous one for the gazillionth time), I can't help but think I'm not as infatuated with this one as I was with the last. But maybe I was just (more) young and stupid back then, since this is definitely a solid effort, worth some praise. [Self released, Debemur Morti Productions, Monolith]
- Kristján Friðbjörnsson
To know about Halifax Collect updates as they come, follow us on facebook, twitter and tumblr. Thank you.
Join the conversation by writing a comment below.
No comments:
Post a Comment