NEONISM

Neonism is the second album from experimental norwegian metal band Solefald. Their debut was a pretty interesting album and Neonism continues to surprise. I must say it´s one of the most innovative metal albums I have heard in a long time. Solefald is a two man studio ( only) band that consists of COrnelius on vocals, guitar and bass and Lazare on vocals, Synthesizers and drums.

Solefald is influenced by many genres on Neonism and as a result the music can seem a bit inaccessible and strange at times. There are lots of black metal riffing ( of the melodic and symphonic sort) and black metal growling sneers, but there are also lots of clean singing. The vocals are pretty diverse which is a treat on Neonism. The songs have lots of sections so the music can´t be accused of being repetitive. The lyrics seem a bit foolish to me, but maybe the humour eludes me a bit.

I found some strange sources of inspiration in some of the songs I will mention just so you can get a picture of how diverse Solefald is on Neonism. The chorus to CK II Chanel N*6 ( which by the way has some of most stupid lyrics I have ever heard. I guess they are suppossed to be funny, but I´m not laughing) reminds me of Rammstein if they sang in english while I can also hear influences from another german band called Depressive Age in some of the music. If you the experimental nature of Neonism you should also check out the last album from Depressive Age called Electric Scum. In Backpaka Baba I think the talking vocals sounds like Beck which is another witness to the diverse nature of the music.

The two musicians playing here are flawless. The are very good musicians.

The productions is good but nothing special.

Solefald has certainly evolved since their debut and even though this is clearly the same band playing the style is pretty different at times. I can´t say this is my favorite style or band for that matter but I will give 3 stars for the innovative nature of Solefald´s music. I would start with the debut before listening to this one though.