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Follow up to the not-so well received debut album A Symphony of Suffering, Infernaeon brings us their second full-length offering, Genesis to Nemesis. One of the main complaints that fans of metal had about the previous recording was the heavy keyboard influence in the music, so those who did not appreciate that aspect will have to deal with it once more. Infernaeon, hailing from Florida, brings together Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, and even Thrash into their mix, so in the long run the keyboards are understandable, but how much of an importance do they play on this recording is, perhaps, the question on everyone's mind. Well, they exist, and they honestly aren't that bad on this recording, though sometimes they really serve no purpose outside of the introductory track "Into the N.O.X.", a haunting keyboard instrumental that sets the tone nicely for the album, though it honestly does run a little too long at times. Outside that, there really is no use for the keyboards on many of the tracks other then to try to make Infernaeon sound a lot more like Cradle of Filth minus the falsetto banshee shrieks and overall gothic environment that the keyboards typically set in their albums. Granted there are times where it works out nicely, such as the closer of "First of the Fallen". As the album progresses, however, many of the songs become more chaotic and furious, and the keyboards will often fit in nicely. "Lilith Ave Satanas" starts off a bit rocky, but as the song progresses it just continues to build upon itself and become more hectic and technical, boasting a guitar solo that is simply nuts and addicting, with some simplistic keyboards thrown into the mix that add a nice extra kick to the songs formula, while also having some more complex moments here and there. Though the music doesn't quite come off too original due to the obvious band comparison mentioned above, Genesis to Nemesis does feature a good amount of well done tracks that continue on from the start of the album. However, once you hit the cover of "Creeping Death" by Metallica, things start to go downhill a bit. "The Scar of David" isn't really all that strong a song, relying heavily on the blast beat drumming to push some of the song along, as well as the inclusion of the simple keyboards to try to give the music a darker atmosphere, which works for the most part, but doesn't truly save the song. It's not a bad track, and the guitar solo on this, like many others, is something worth experiencing, and the build up prior to it with the odd drumming really makes it stand out. Another problem here is that the solo is clearly Thrash, and when it ends, it abruptly goes right back into the Black Metal sound, which causes them to clash horribly due to how different they are from each other, leaving this song feeling a lot like a fodder track if anything. "Immaculate Deception" does, however, bring in a bit more of a Thrash influence then any of the other songs, as well as "Graven Image", causing them to stand out a little more then the rest of the album, though nowhere near as enjoyable as the earlier tracks as they lack the bite that "Lilith Ave Satanas" and even "Legacy of Kane" have musically, feeling a little more restrained then anything else. "Revelation", on the other hand, makes for a suiting end to the album, though, again, the guitars sound a bit hollow in the mix at times, mostly during the long blast beat section that kicks in shortly after the song picks up the pace, as if the bass just completely dropped out of the recording. Overall, Genesis to Nemesis seems to be geared more towards a Symphonic Black Metal meets Thrash sound then anything, especially in the pollished production quality, which works nicely for the music that Infernaeon plays on this release. There's no real steady pace through the album, as the tempo changes quite often between songs, and even within the song itself, leading to a severe lack of repetition on this album. The only problem that one can find is that, sometimes, the songs will have hollow sounding moments, but they are very few and very rare. Back to "First of the Fallen", the first example of this, and the most obvious, happens near the end where the guitars draw the song to a close, but it sounds hollow and seems to be missing it's bite completely. Aside that, there's also the misplacement of the Metallica cover song "Creeping Death", which practically comes out of nowhere right in the middle of the recording. While it's a nicely done cover, the sound is completely opposite of the entire album, and the main vocal performance even sounds like the more stern vocals you'd hear from Oderus Urungus of Gwar, which, too, causes this track to clash horribly with the rest of the album, regardless of how well done this cover song is. Had it been placed at the end, it wouldn't have interrupted the flow of the album as abruptly as it does. For a follow-up album, Genesis to Nemesis really shows the band stepping forward as a group and tightening their sound together. While the album does have it's faults, Infernaeon have clearly matured on this release, leaving even those against the keyboards of their previous albums with a lot to consider with this one. Genesis to Nemesis makes for a good listen, but there isn't too much here that will hold the listener after the halfway point, and while the band has a unique sound, there's clearly a good amount of worship from another band in their music, leaving the sound a little unoriginal in the final run, and the more original tracks that come up at the end just aren't as powerful as those that jumpstart the release, causing this Infernaeon album to look to a future of collecting dust in your collection after a short while. |
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