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Links: - Band Logo - Google Video Search - Official Myspace - Official Purevolume - Official Website - Reality Entertainment Review information: - Release length: 58:59 - Review posted on September 7th, 2004 |
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Review
Slave Design marks the debut full-length album by the Industrial Groove Metal act Sybreed, a release that is full of science fiction-esque ambience and hard hitting guitar riffs. One thing that this album points out is that this act is one that has the power to stand out amongst the plethora of Industrial acts out there thanks to their ability to their ability to bring an original sound into their music in what seems like an effortless attempt to create catchy and memorable tracks that simply will not get stale. With a high replay value, it's not wonder that Sybreed is quickly becoming a hot topic amongst the varied musical communities. The material found on Slave Design is something that many listeners will not readily find today. The music on here does not come at you in a furious high speed pace relying heavily on the Industrial sounds. While a good majority of what makes Slave Design so special is Industrial related, the material here comes off fresh through some heavy hitting tracks that go at a mid-tempo with some Meshuggah inspired groove riffs (which you will really notice during the track "ReEvolution"), to an often somewhat faster pace. The music here isn't necessarily intense either, and the only Groove aspects of the release can be found in the guitar riffs prior to the melodic moments thrown in through the release, mostly at the chorus of the song. While this release does seem to follow a pattern of screaming vocals, sung chorus, it's done so well that it'll stay lodged in your cranium for a while. The tracks that really stand out on Slave Design are the ones that really focus on the ambience of the music through the keyboards. "ReEvolution" is a perfect example of this with it's somewhat haunting music and melodic chorus with simple, screamed and sung vocals. The ambience on this track really brings in a bit of a casual feel that you could relax to at times, and can be rather addicting. However, it's nowhere near as addicting as the track "Next Day Will Never Come", or even "Rusted", which have basically the whole feel, but are far more catchy through the melodic guitars utilized through much of the song, and the low, almost melancholic singing vocals used that, again, are very relaxing and put you at ease. Aside the lighter, more atmospheric tracks, there are still some heavier tracks on here. "Machine Gun Messiah" is perhaps the heaviest one of them all, having some really fast paced double bass going on with some technical Groove-laden guitar riffs that push the song along. Again, much like the other heavier tracks, this isn't heavy to the point where the music becomes really intense, but just heavier through the music being somewhat faster, using distortion, and having more angered vocal styles that go from screaming to harsher rhaspy vocals with less singing. The problem is that not all of these tracks are that great. "Take the Red Pill" is a song that isn't too bad, and is on the heavier side, but seems to just go nowhere and manages to waste about five minutes of time on the release as a filler. Unfortuinately, "Critical Mass" falls into this category too, closing the album out without much of a real ending. Tacked onto the album are two seperate mixes of the already available tracks "ReEvolution" and "Decoy". These tracks, acting almost as bonus tracks, are two of the better tracks on the album, so hearing them again isn't all that bad a proposition to begin with. Both of these are clearly airplay friendly versions of the songs, though the "ReEvolution (Airplay Syntax Edit)" really isn't necessary, and doesn't really seem like much was edited from the original outside of some additional feedback and effects thrown in, as well as roughly nine seconds cut from the final product somewhere. The latter track, "Decoy (Radio Slave Edit)" actually comes off a little heavier, but still has the same things going on with it as the "ReEvolution (Airplay Syntax Edit)" with additional effects and distortions added. While these extra tracks do add some extra time on here that you will enjoy, they are not quite necessary. Slave Design in it's self is a thoroughly enjoyable album that does have a few filler tracks, but is one hell of a trip between atmosphere and rage that really shows some promise from Sybreed for future releases. |
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