At The Mercy Of Inspiration
A Perfect Way To Kill An Evening
Reviewed by Rob "stick" Wagner
Wow! This cd fuckin rocks! I was totally not expecting this. I got it from the guitarist when we played with his other band, Bitter Falls. He told me that this was his metal project. I had a hard time swallowing that after hearing Bitter Falls, who play a Radiohead meets The Cure hybrid. Then, to add to the confusion, I went to their website. Nothing about that site says “metal”. I had an image in my head by now that these guys were some emo band. Everything about them screams emo. The song titles, their look, (I know, I ‘m a superficial dick, get over it) even the band name itself. So, I stayed away for awhile. But curiosity finally took hold. I kept telling myself that maybe they’d sound more like at the drive-in than jimmy eat world. Let this be a lesson to me on stereotyping.
The cd starts out with what I think is a sample from some movie, although, I have absolutely no clue what movie it might be. You hear some footsteps, a door opening and closing, and then some girl singing beautifully in French. At this point, I’m still convinced that these cats are emo. Then the bomb drops. BANG! Out of nowhere, this blistering black metal riff comes ripping out of my speakers. My jaw hit the fucking floor. I was definitely wasn’t expecting this. This shit is metal as fuck!
ATMOI plays a strange hybrid of metal styles. It’s mostly raw black metal, especially in the vocals, but they throw in some thrash, death, and even a few traces of hardcore. They employ lots of breakneck single string riffing, chunky breakdowns, and a few jaw dropping time changes. Most interesting, however, are the strange riffs themselves. For example, about two minutes into the third track, “Those Nights When It’s Just Not Worth It”, this black metal riff comes roaring in. What makes this odd is that the riff sounds, well, happy. All in all, the music on this disc stays in my head for long periods of time.
The production on this release is superb. All the instruments come through loud and clear. You can even hear the bass, which is actually a rarity in black metal, as you listeners are well aware. The Playing is top notch, with my only complaint being that the double bass run in the beginning of “The Embarrassed” seems to slow down as it goes on. Maybe it was intended that way, I don’t know. I don’t know what is going on lyrically, but judging from the song titles, they are straying away from the meat headed direction most metal bands go. No gore, no satan, no porn.
Let this be a lesson to not only me, though I sorely needed it, but to all. Never judge a book by its cover.
9/10
www.shelovesatmoi.com
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