For the first time ever in the
history of PowerOfMetal.dk, we will bring you a cooking lesson from the Northern
Denmark. It’s time to ‘boil’ an egg of equitable balance of progressive metal
and alternative rock, and this is the receipt on how it’s done properly with the
passion and love for music. So keep reading our fellow readers, if this has
sparked your curiosity, and your stomach is screaming for more…
BOIL was born nine years ago in one of the largest cities of Denmark, called
Aarhus, and the lineup includes today the five young and gifted musicians in the
persons of front figure Jacob Løbner (Malrun) on lead vocals, his fellow axmen
Stig Nielsen and Kenneth Avnsted on guitars, Kristian Outinen on bass, and
finally Mikkel Ib on percussion, drums and samples. Let me tell you, this bunch
of musicians definitely has the skills to create beautiful things with their
hands and brains, so prepare yourself for some tasteful ear candy delivered by
the emotional and colorful vocal performance of lead singer Løbner, the
magnificent firework of the razor sharp and weird guitar riffs unleashed by his
wingmen Stig and Kenneth, the impressive bass lines by Kristian adding the
driving foundation to the album, and the well-executed complex drum patterns by
Mikkel.
“aXiom”
is the third attempt of the quintet trying to seduce the hearts and minds of the
metalheads world-wide, following up on the growing success of their debut
entitled “Vessel” released in 2007, and its successor the sophomore album “A New
Decay” deployed three years ago. This time around they will try pushing their
limits even further with a helping hand from their new Swedish record label
ViciSolum Productions, Intromental Management, and none other than the legendary
Swedish producer Jens Bogren (Katatonia, Opeth, Devin Townsend, Symphony X), who
is famous for being blessed with a ‘sixth sense’ for mixing and mastering.
This album is the culmination of months of research done by BOIL supported by
various Danish mental institutions and organizations. The script of this concept
album was written by Mr. Løbner based on the notes collected from the series of
interviews BOIL did with a number of mentally ill people, mainly those paranoid
schizophrenics suffering from delusions. The lyrical content of this album is,
fractured pieces of the original script, telling the story of a paranoid
schizophrenic man suffering from delusions, as well as their underlying
philosophical understanding of the notion of truth, even though it’s a bit
unclear at times.
The story, scattered over twelve songs, is kicked of with the opening track
Sphere setting a very dark and creepy atmosphere. It’s a perfect introduction to
the story told through the spoken words by Løbner, sucking us into this dark
universe, sounding like something coming out of the mouth of the “madman”
himself, Marilyn Manson, before Løbner mutates into a screaming-undeadly evil
beast. He demonstrates the true power of his very emotional, versatile and
brutal screaming voice with his “Jekyll & Hyde” performance matching just
perfectly the mood and atmosphere surrounding each of the twelve songs. He is
truly talented, and a gift to the metal scene indeed, and belongs amongst the
pack of well-known metal vocalists from my little homeland Denmark. His four
brothers of BOIL are not to be left unnoticed in the shadows, haunting the dark
and narrow hallways of this musical journey, with such complex compositions as
Equilibrium and the lengthy and epic Vindication showcasing from start to finish
top-notch musicianship by each band member with their strong emphasis on the
technically complexity. But even a stronghold like this album has its own
weakness, just check out the track Sunbound anchored to the sacred ground of
Deathcore. Maybe it’s the weakest link on the entire album, but it’s still a
great example of the diversity of this album.
The scary looking cover artwork created by Travis Smith (Nevermore, Katatonia,
Avenged Sevenfold) is a perfect illustration of the enormous transformation of
BOIL, saying goodbye to the bright white colors, and welcomed on board the deep
black palette of colors used in the artwork. Like Travis, Jens Bogren has
definitely put his footprint on this creation with his superb and raw
first-class production, and helped the quintet travelling along the dark
pathways safely.
"aXiom" will catapult BOIL into the top of progressive rock & metal bands and are
definitely not a band you should take on lightly, sound wise or lyrically. It’s
a tough nut to crack, but it will be worth the effort, and once you’re caught
‘inside’ its prison, breaking out of its walls will become more difficult than
you could ever imagine.
