|
As robotic as it as mechanic without the strongest of backbones.-
|
| Illdisposed: There is Light (But It's Not for Me) (Digipack) |
Death Metal
Massacre Records
April 1st, 2011
- Your Own Best Companion - 3:46
- Heaven Forbid - 4:23
- Our Words Betrayed - 4:10
- The Taste of You - 4:23
- As the Day Rottens - 3:53
- Reality to Fall - 2:48
- Step Into My Winter - 4:14
- Rape - 5:02
- Sunday Black - 3:36
- We - 4:34
- Alone (Bonus Track) - 4:10
|
| Links |
| Review Information |
Release length: 45:00
Review posted on June 20th, 2011
- |
|
| | Overall Score: 6.5/10 |
  |
|
|
| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Four Depressive Seasons (1993) • Submit (1995) • There's Something Rotten in the State of Denmark (1997) • Retro (2000)
Kokaiinum (2001) • 1-800 Vindication (2004) • Burn Me Wicked (2006) • The Prestige (2008) • To Those Who Walk Behind Us (2009)
There is Light (But It's Not for Me) (2011)
|
| EP(s): |
Return from Tomorrow (1994)
|
| Split(s): |
Checkpoint #3 (2001)
|
| Single(s): |
Still Sane (2005)
|
| Demo(s): |
The Winter of Our Discontempt (1992) • Soulstorm (1993) • Promo 2003 (2003) • Our Heroin Recess (2006)
|
| Compilation(s): |
Helvede (1995) • Kokaiinum/Retro (2002)
|
| DVD(s): |
We Suck, Libe Aarhus 2004 (2004)
|
|
| - |
| Review |
Illdisposed is perhaps one of Death Metal's greatest hidden gems, at least here in the United States. The band formed back in 1991 and hails from Denmark, and since then has issued a number of releases including nine full-length efforts. In 2011, the band released their tenth studio full-length, entitled There is Light (But It's Not for Me) and, sadly like many of their other efforts, it has been overlooked for a domestic North American release. While long time fans of the group will more then likely shell out the costly prices of on-line stores to have this album imported, the question is whether or not this effort is actually worth it considering how the band has been progressing more towards a Melodic Death Metal act. With There is Light (But It's Not for Me), the band continues to grow, and with some Industrial elements going on in the background of some songs, does it still pack that same bite that made albums like There's Somethign Rotten in the State of Denmark and 1-800 Vindication such must-have efforts?
There is Light (But It's Not for Me) is definitely somewhat different from what many fans have grown accustomed to. The band really seems to combine their standard Death Metal approach, but at the same time has a little more of a Melodic Death Metal approach to some of the material that doesn't overwhelm the album, but is still rather obvious. Much of this is brought on through the keyboards and hook-driven material found on various tracks. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it does give the music a more unique atmosphere, coming off more stylish and badass then your typical Death Metal attitude. The vocals also factor into this thanks to the harsher, back of the throat growl instead of a guttural performance that has some distortion on it that is layered, making it sound a little more mechanical then human. Sadly, they also feel a little held back and not quite as intimidating or aggressive as they should be. This is definitely one of the major down sides to the release, and it really feels like it holds the album back, leaving a huge gap for the listener that simply is not filled, and coming off more like there is an attempt to bring in a Napalm Death Grindcore or general badass Hardcore attitude to the vocals. The higher rhasps that appear once in a while, such as in "Our Words Betrayed" as supporting vocals, do give them an extra bit of edge to match the heavier hook-driven material.
Of course, while the vocals simply don't live up to what they should be, the music is often dark and mechanical with a good amount of heaviness to it to keep it in the Death Metal range regardless of the hooks and random Industrial or Techno-like effects that appear on practically every song, such as "Your Own Best Companion" and the slight Techno beat that occurs during the start of "Reality to Fall". These elements feel a little excessive, but given some of the hooks and general atmosphere, they fit in with the whole product. But, this doesn't stop the album from having a good amount of intense material, and it all stays pretty consistant from the start of the album with "Your Own Best Companion". The songs makes for a nice introduction to what is to come, especially since much of the release stays pretty fluid from one track to the other. The general pace of the songs on here are a typical mid-tempo that glorifies that dark, mechanical atmosphere well. Of course, the vocal approach to many of the songs remains similar as well, as the rhaspier tracks "Our Words Betrayed" and "Sunday Black" offer up some of the most varietion to the release, as well as have a stronger edge, though don't normally signify a faster pace to the song like "Our Words Betrayed" had.
Another one of the drawbacks is, while the songs have that dark and mechanical feel, and some can be brutal or intimidating, there's not many that are awe-inspiring or even that memorable. "Your Own Best Companion" sums up the album well and becomes a track you'll remember solely by it's introduction to the release, and it's doing a decent job at it. "Our Words Betrayed" will stand out because of it's faster pace and intimidating dual vocals. "Sunday Black" does manage to change things up a bit, as it creates a more aggressive track that uses the additional Industrialized keyboards to create a bit of an epic sound to the song that really shows the potential the band could have brought to many of the songs, and "We" carries that well with it's slower, more glorious musical approach to the chorus, but faster music for the main verses with blistering double bass that is rarely seen on this release. "The Taste of You" also sticks out for it's more somber melodic approach to the music and haunting keyboards that really set up a more melancholic atmosphere to the track.
| Digipack Edition |
|
The Digipack version of this release doesn't really offer much of a difference to the release other then the packagine, but it does offer an exclusive track. While the regular jewel case version ends with the rather epic "We", this edition closes with the song "Alone", which actually is dramatically different from the rest of the album. This song has what sounds like genuine gutturals mixed with the rhaspy vocal approach with music that is grim and melancholic, but it's just a deeper approach to commanding growls and overlaid rhaspier approach. The more dark and mechanical atmosphere and music does appear here, but it feels a little lacking, and at times the music feels a little hollow without those keyboards, but it's not that bad without them at those times either way. It's a bit of a departure from the material of this album, and really seems to capture what Illdisposed offered prior to this album, and it ends with a more suiting gothic keyboard piece that sounds like it came from an old black and white Dracula film.
|
There is Light (But It's Not for Me) is not really the greatest Illdisposed effort up to this point, but it's an alright change of pace. The constant mid-tempo tracks do get old quick, and the vocals not really being as intimidating as they should be really holds the album back. But, the overall atmosphere of the release does make up for some of those faults and show a band clearly still growing after all these years. It's a win/lose type of situation because there are some good tracks that take ahold of this more mechanical sound that uses some strong hooks to keep the flow going, but at the same time there's a good number of songs that feel like filler that just hammer away at the same pace with the same sound and lacking anything truly unique or defining from one another to make them memorable. If you're a fan, you will find some material on here worth checking out, but if you're new, this is definitely not the place you should be starting at with this band. Illdisposed has offered some great releases that are really worth the import costs, and while it's not their best effort, There is Light (But It's Not for Me) is still worth sampling or picking up the tracks mentioned in this review through on-line MP3 stores.
|
| - |
|
|
Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Massacre Records.
| Submit to Social Networks |
|
|
|
