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Sybreed has certainly changed quite a bit
since their debut album, “Slave Design”. What started out as an industrial band in the vein
of Fear Factory has since become an amazing, mature band that has their own
sound.
In fact, they even have a name for it: Death Wave. This refers to a sort of new age death metal that is
heavily influenced by progressive metal, death metal, electronica, and new wave
music. Indeed, these guys know what they want to sound like, and
they hit the nail on the head every single album.
“God is an Automaton” is no exception to
this statement. Sybreed here showcases their further maturation and
experimentation in the progressive metal scene. In fact, I have been noticing a certain amount of
negative reviews for Sybreed's last few albums just because they seem to be
espousing prog metal so closely. For me, however, this is a joy. Within this newest album, Sybreed experiments with
all kinds of odd time signatures, progressive song structures, and they even
come close to an “epic”.
In fact, the final track on the album, “Destruction
and Bliss”, is a genuine prog metal piece. So, I know there are some disappointed fans out
there; but, in my eyes, Sybreed is maturing to a comprehensive state. Within “God is an Automaton”, Sybreed do
not really mess with their musical formula. They still have a nice mix of harsh and clean vocals
(my favorite harsh vocals of any band, by the way), virtuoso lead guitars,
crunching and slamming djent-style rhythms, and ambient synth that cuts through
the heavy mix.
Of course, no one can forget the drums.
Drummer Kevin is probably the best drummer of his
style in music today. I know that is an amazing statement, but I cannot
think of anyone else that is better.
He
has not only an ear for ultra-complex rhythms and melt-your-face blast beats,
but he also has a knack for truly interesting beats.
He joined the band with their second release, “Antares”,
and blew me away with the complexity. Then, in “Pulse of Awakening”, Kevin wowed me with
his experimentation with unique and odd beats.
Now, in “God is an Automaton”, he has floored me
again with his fantastic off-tempo focus.
So, the musicianship is still at the top of the
game, and the vox are as wonderful as ever. As for concept, I also feel that Sybreed
has matured greatly. This album focuses on the question of human
suffering; and, while I don’t agree with all of the conclusions, I still respect
them for such a deep topic. This topic and the album in general reach their high
point with the second track, “No wisdom brings solace”. This song is amazing lyrically, musically, and just
about every other way imaginable. It is good enough that it is definitely in my top 5
songs of 2012. Other high points include the final two tracks,
“Into the blackest light” and the aforementioned “Destruction and bliss”. What I keep coming back to again and again is the
fact that this album is genuinely progressive in almost every track, and this
excites me.
“God is an Automaton” is a fantastic album, one of the best
of 2012, one of the best offerings that Sybreed has given us (Antares beats it
by a slim margin), and a masterpiece that promises even better things to come. Stay tuned. | ||||||||||||||||||
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