|
What happened to the depressive atmospheres?-
|
| Lifelover: Sjukdom |
Black Metal, Depressive Rock
Prophecy Recprds
March 8th, 2011
- Svart Galla - 4:28
- Led by Misfortune - 3:07
- Expandera - 3:49
- Homicidal Tendencies - 1:44
- Resignation - 3:37
- Doften Av Tomhet - 5:03
- Totus Anctus - 3:51
- Horans Hora - 6:19
- Bitterljuv Kakofoni - 4:14
- Becksvart Frustration - 4:28
- Nedvaknande - 2:51
- Instrumental Asylum - 4:52
- Utdrag - 3:17
- Karma - 4:30
|
| Links |
| Review Information |
Release length: 56:10
Review posted on March 6th, 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): |
Pulver (2006) | Erotik (2007) | Konkurs (2008) | Sjukodom (2011)
|
| EP(s): |
Dekadens (2009)
|
| Demo(s): |
Promo (2005)
|
|
| - |
| Review |
Sjukdom is the much anticipated follow-up full-length release from Sweden's Lifelover. After being properly introduced to States through Prophecy Productions on the reissue of their last release, Konkurs, many new fans have eagerly awaited this new offering, which makes its way over here a few weeks after it's initial launch overseas. However, the opinions for this release have been mixed, and sadly it's understandable. Sjukdom makes the band's fourth full-length effort, and it shows a band continuing to grow, but perhaps in the wrong direction.
One of the main allures to Lifelover has always been the band's more melancholic depressive sound. A lot of people will admit that the atmosphere the band brought with them was one of the main reasons why they had become such devoted fans of the group. However, with Sjukdom, it just simply isn't there. The music actually feels a lot less depressive, and a lot more like traditional Black Metal that often seems to tread out of the style's boundaries to explore other elements. There are times where one can't help that the group seems to want to run over and play a little Death Metal, which is something that comes to mind in "Led by Misfortune". Some songs, such as that track, also seem to have more of a modern-day sound to them, being somewhat stylish due to the clear production, but still having a decent amount of heaviness to them. When the band successfully manages to create a dismall atmosphere to the sound, it's nothing to worry about. "Expandera" becomes proof of this, as this song captures Lifelover at their best, performing a slower Black Metal approach with depressing guitars, low, spoken word vocals that have a strong depressing emotional performance behind them, almost as if being spoken from a man who has given up on everything, and keyboards that capture that essence and enhance it perfectly.
Without this kind of depressive atmosphere to the recording, some tracks will just leave listeners feeling like the band is going in the wrong direction. Musically, some of these tracks sound great as traditional Black Metal songs, but the signature vocal style of the group becomes questionable, especially when they start going all over the place in the sadistic, desperate manner the group has used on albums before. Also on this recording are a lot of random audio samples that really just serve no purpose other then to outline something negative. "Homicidal Tendencies" is, I suppose, an interlude track that does this. it's confusing because the song honestly sounds like it's going to be a decent Lifelover song, but it goes absolutely nowhere, ends with a sample that sound suspiciously like a sample used on an old White Zombie album that sounds like a news clip (in English) about murders and sex crimes, then some distortion effects, and it ends. This actually happens quite a bit on here, not necessarily with an audio sample, but many songs seem to just not really go anywhere before they end, or just feel like they ended a little too soon. Then "Resignation" begins, which again is another good Black Metal track, and it has a somewhat melancholic feel to it, but the depressing nature of the music doesn't seem to kick in until later on in the track.
Perhaps the biggest drawback to Sjukdom is the rather clear production quality. While having a raw production quality isn't always the best way to go, especially when it just makes an album sound like it was recorded in a basement on an old cassette deck then copies of that tape were made for sale, a little rawness in the production of an album isn't necessarily a bad thing. That could really have helped out here. The production values on this are very clear, taking on a quality to that of today's more popular Depressive Rock act Katatonia, however the music just isn't composed strong enough to sound as depressing all the time. There are also moments where the vocals just sound horrible, and with a little raw production, or even a little distortion, they would have been fine. Take "Horans Hora" for example, which finds the vocalist trying to hit a gutteral tone, but instead it doesn't quite make it and sounds like a poorly cookie monster shot full of tranquilizers and trying to haronize against the music. It even sounds painful, making my own throat start to hurt and give me enough a scratchiness that I wanted to start coughing on his behalf.
But, with all those drawbacks aside, if you step back and think about the release in a conceptual pattern, one can kind of understand them, but that doesn't mean that it's a good think. "Sjukdom" actually means "sickness", and in many ways there are things about this album that work well with that title. Some of the interlude tracks on here, such as "Bitterljuv Kakofoni" sound right at home if the band were trying to portray an illness of some kind thruogh their music. However, there's not many tracks that actually spawn that kind of creepy, near-death or even sickly experience. Some of the random spoken word segments also begin to make sense, as they seem to fit more into the concept of sickness, whether by stating about a worldly sickness, or perhaps the sickness of a character who happens these clips and only grows sicker himself due to them. Sadly, without a lyrical translation, it's unclear, but either way, they still feel tacked on at times, but at least they make a little sense with that knowledge. Outside those elements, there's really no excuse for the faults on this recording.
Sjukdom honestly has a number of good songs, many with the depressing atmosphere, and many that simply don't have it. However, the one song that really stood out on this release is perhaps the most obscure one for this band: "Karma". The track has a raw intensity, and just a stronger emotional atmosphere to it then others, though it suffers from not really having a rich enough sound to it, being somewhat hollow. However, the heavy instruments coupled with the depressing keyboards and the atmosphere they create really send this song into a completely different direction that takes the best of the band, and their more prominant traditional Black Metal compositions on this recording into a very impressive and intense direction you simply don't see anywhere else on this recording. It'd be nice if there were more songs like this one on here, but with a richer production to it, and perhaps a little more to the song then what is present after the half way point.
In the end, Sjukdom is a frustrating album, but it's far from bad. It's got plenty of good things going for it, including some of the band's traditional depressive sounds that keep the band's lineage alive on this recording, and some of the more branching out/experimental traditional Black Metal elements sound good, but lack that atmosphere the band is known for. The "sickness" aspect of the compositions is often not as acknowledged as it should be, and the vocals are really good, but the gutterals just sound horrible. In the end it's a varied album that those who don't know the band's history may enjoy, but the die hard fans will be a little let down by the more traditional path the band went, some of the more generic music, as well as the lack of atmosphere and depressive elements. It's far from bad, but also far from one of the band's better efforts.
|
| - |
|
Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Prophecy Productions.
| Submit to Social Networks |
|
- Lead Example
Become a partner
|
|
