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A sleek album that lacks that sleek feeling.-
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| Last Chance to Reason: Level 2 |
Progressive Metal
Prosthetic Records
April 12th, 2011
- Upload Complete - 5:32
- Coded to Fail - 2:57
- Taking Control - 1:29
- Temp Files - 3:36
- Programmed for Battle - 4:35
- Portal - 5:13
- The Parabolic - 2:44
- The Linear - 6:31
- The Prototype - 5:35
- Apotheosis - 5:43
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| Review Information |
Release length: 43:55
Review posted on April 15th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 9/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Level 1 (2007) | Level 2 (2011)
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| EP(s): |
Dreamt of an Angel, Woke with a Nightmare (2005)
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| Review |
Video games are everywhere these days, and in the past few years, they've even been snuck into the world's Metal supply. So many bands have been taking the concepts of music from the eight and sixteen-bit era days of gaming and throwing those sounds into anything they can, such as Power Metal with Powerglove and even Metalcore with HORSE... the Band. However, none of these bands can really stack up to the Progressive Metal act Last Chance to Reason, who, with the release of their second full-length effort Level 2, seriously up the bar on this game. Pun intended. Sadly, Prosthetic Records, the label pushing this release out, did not include any information towards this conceptual album whatsoever, but after scouring the internet, it appears that once again, Last Chance to Reason weaves a video game-inspired conceptual piece, supposedly with help from independent game developer Tom Vine (though a quick internet search brings up a comedian by that name and nothing at all about video games, so how reliable this information truly is becomes a little questionable, but can't be disproved by me at this time). Of course, one listen to Level 2, and it becomes clear that this ia a new breed of a nerdish beast.
Whether anyone outside the band had input to the concept of this release or not, there's no denying it's an intense romp. Level 2 is once again essentially set up like a video game, but told through a realistic Progressive Metal act. The music clearly takes from some of the old-school side scrolling space shooter classics like R-Type, and the intensity, as well as calmer moments from games such as those, are clearly pushed through with the music on the release, giving the sensation that you happen to be playing a game, clearing through the level, and sometimes ultimately happening upon the end level's boss. It's a rather interesting method to compose an album, and for anyone who has played a game, it'll be easy to get lost in the futuristic environments that the story works with. The album starts witht he punishing Death Metal touched "Upload Complete", blending a heavy Progressive intensity with gutteral vocals that quickly fades to a more somber lighter and atmospheric Progressive passage with clean singing that acts as the chorus, jumping between the two. This is your opening, and it's composed perfectly thanks to the more Space Rock influences incorporated into the music to give off a futuristic vibe. Sadly, the promotional version does not include the lyrics, so it's unclear as to what exactly is going on in this first part, but it does seem to give enough exposition about how the story begins, perhaps through an enemy attack and the acceptance of anguish to fight back. Either way, it's an impressive start to the release that shows off the bite that the band truly has with this recording, even though one of the guitar chords around the five minute mark sounds like the old school Batman live action show when the screen would spin and the bat logo zoom in and out, giving it a slightly comical moment near the end that feels a little awkward.
But, that's honestly the only awkward moment you will find with this release. The music generally progresses nicely from one track to another, often carrying on straight from one song to another without a moment's pause or hesitation. The jumping between a heavily Death Metal oriented sound with the lighter, more futuristic in atmosphere Progressive style is executed well and often almost seemlessly. "Temp Files" shows this well of the band, having plenty of moments that clearly feel more computerized in intent thanks to the sounds that one might expect from an old-school science fiction gaming shooter coupled with clean singing that is well done, rather soothing, but at the same time feels performed in a manner similar to what people expect artificial intelligence to have sounded like at this day in age. These are meshed perfectly with more furious and intimidating Death Metal gutterals and music that amps up the intensity of the recording while still allowing the clean singing and futuristic elements to remain the same, transitioned smoothly between the two if not coupled together at the same time. This isn't the first time it happens, and it definitely isn't the last either, as "Programmed for Battle" really hammers away to the listener, though the differences between the two elements really shine through and are clearly seperated, though the cleanly sung chorus to this song is much more infectious then some of the other tracks on the release, and not performed in a manner befitting to a computerized voice.
Each track feels rather unique to itself as well. There is a huge difference between "Upload Complete" and the rest of the album, and that's great. While that song jumps around in a more patterned Progressive, Death Metal pattern, other tracks seem to jump in a manner that best suits the story, such as with the atmosphere driven "The Linear" which is prodominantly Progressive Metal mixed with more Space Rock ideals throughout, lacking any real jump at all, and "The Parabolic" only having one real jump towards the intimidating Death Metal gutterals and music. The production of the album captures the intensity and serenity of these different approaches perfectly, having a very modern feel, but allowing the music itself to sound heavy through distortion and the chaos of the background futuristic effects. The more digital approach to the recording, and not having to rely on a somewhat muddy or completely raw sounding album to set up an old-school vibe to the recording's atmosphere is just the icing on the cake, but the only real issue here is that, while it feels futuristic, it doesn't quite have that sleek or stylish feel one might expect from a release like this.
The lack of a stylish approach does feel like a bit of a low blow to the listener. This is one of those times where a stronger digital sound with the recording would work, but instead it feels a little more bland in that department then it should be. The effects utilized set up the futuristic vibe well, but they feel like they are not as clean and shiny as they should be. Granted, the release is going more for the earlier days of gaming, but given the clarity of the album in the first place, the lack of sleek sounding effects doesn't necessarily work for the album. The music itself also has a good amount of distortion to it that gives it a great bite, and it works to segway between traditional Progressive and the Death Metal inputs, but at the same time it hinders things by making the album sound thicker then it probably should be, especially given some of the effects on the vocals that feel a little more grounded a human then perhaps was intended. "The Prototype" is a perfect example of this, as you can clearly tell the overall quality of heaviness does work for the band, but the vocal effects at times are meant to cast the listener off into a stronger atmosphere that can wrap the listener up and have them drift off amongst the stars the lyrics are composed about, and it just doesn't. Instead, the music and vocals seem to keep the listener grounded and build up a tense atmosphere for the listener instead of creating a more Space Rcok, even Shoegaze element of the music that the music pretty much cries out wanting, but settles for a cement brick on it's shoes instead of journeying into the stars for one of the most atmospheric passages of the recording.
Level 2 is one of those albums that you simply want to love unconditionally, but in the end has that one fundamental flaw that makes it an infuriating listen. No, the album is far from bad, and Last Chance to Reason have really outdone themselves this time around. The music is great and the story, from what I could gather without the lyrics being provided, was quite engrossing. Often the lyrics would feel very simple, as if composed by a first grader, but in the end it would somehow sound a little more adult through the story telling, and while those simplistic lyrics can sometimes feel a little poor against such an impressive musical and atmospheric backdrop, the main issue is the lack of sleek and stylish music to allow the album to float away with the listener. From start to finish the music is heavy, intense, and it works well for the heavier moments, but the only time the album really feels like it's trying to take the listener away, and is able to, is the closing of "Apotheosis" where it's only soft clean singing ending the album, which makes the listener tense from start until the album is about finished. Had there been a mixture of the intense and heavier elements with a sound that was much sleeker and modern that could take the listener away with it in the production, and manage to vary between it, this would have been a masterpiece of conceptual writing, Metal, and the inclusion of video games. Sadly, level 2 becomes an album to hear, but doesn't quite live up to the potential that it so clearly has buried in the heavily distorted music.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Prosthetic Records.
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