A SCEPTIC'S UNIVERSE

A technical monstrosity.

So far, out of the all music I have ever heard in my life, this is probably the most technical. Each member of this band is certainly a master of their craft but things go a little overboard with the technicality. There is a constant change of time signatures, tempo's and the like, but sometimes it just gets questionable as why too much.

The best performance by far is the bass work or Lars Norberg. Any fan of the instrument will surely appreciate his work. The bass playing sounds like an improvisation, and the listener can be sure to notice it because he is very loud in the mix, which would make a lot of sense due to his stand out product. Even though the musicians that play on the album are as proficient as can get, the bass playing of Lars Norberg still stands out.

What did not stand out were the melodies. I feel that sometimes they lack the sensibility of playing along the same lines and they let things go out of whack, a result of the technicality just going a bit too far for technical sake. The singer, Oyvind Haegeland, is reminiscent of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, except being able to obtain a higher pitch in his voice. Much like the instruments, there is only so much of his voice one can take as well.

This release is something that a technical metal fan would love to the fullest. An opposing player to the genre will find nothing but unhappiness. I tend to think that this is a great album, but the instruments start growing apart from each other so much that it becomes too much for the ear. I think Behold.the Arctopus can do the opposite of this. Go crazy and retaining the melodies is what they can achieve with ease. Sadly, this band does not. I would recommend Twisted into Form, co-created by the guitarist from this band, if you indeed loved this release.

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