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May 17, 2012 |
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8TH SIN - Angelseed & Demonmilk
Black Lodge (2005) |
3/10 |
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01. A Sleepover At The Feeling Of Death
02. Liards
03. Demons
04. Irreligious
05. Nocturnal
06. Templo Mayor
07. Angels
08. Humans Without Disguise
09. Black Widow
10. Angelseed & Demonmilk
11. The Eight Sins Part II
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Take RAMMSTEIN, MINISTRY, CRADLE OF FILTH, and MARILYN MANSON, heave them all into a musical blender, and what you pour out will be a tall glass of "Angelseed & Demonmilk", 8TH SIN's sophomore release. The website identifies the band members as Michael (guitars), Y (guitars), IT (vocals), TG (drums), and Johan (bass)...hey, at least two of them were given names at birth.
The addition of guitars and guitar parts presented, at least a few times, with actual (dare I say?) arrangements have already made this album far better than their previous release. Gone is the extreme techno edge of "Sinners Inc." in favor of more of the "Hard Rock" guitar sound ala NICKELBACK or any of those other cookie-cutter bands getting recognition lately. The keyboards have not gone away though. They are used throughout and often not to provide atmosphere as with most "Metal" bands, but to annoy more than anything with seemingly random blips, chirps, and bleeps sprinkled all through a number of the songs. In fact, I'm pretty sure I recall hearing one burp and possibly two farts too. To explain these odd, misplaced sounds, picture this: the first time I heard the blips, I turned the stereo down and scrambled to find my cell phone, which I'm quite sure was ringing.
Vocalist IT has a somewhat broad range and there are hints of a number of vocalists including Glenn Danzig, Rob Zombie, VENOM's Cronos, and CRADLE OF FILTH's Dani Filth in his presentation. He also uses a number of vocal effects to mix things up a bit. The amalgamation of this guitar sound, the keyboard work (including random noises), the often nonsensical lyrics, and IT's evocative vocals certainly put 8TH SIN in a class of their own, at least as far as "Metal" is concerned. Admittedly, a few select songs have grown on me, but it is certainly an acquired taste.
Lyrically, the songs often seem like nothing more than a rhyming effort by the "special needs" Grade 1 class at Twinpeaks Elementary School For The Gifted. Lyrics ending with "I, lie, die, and sky"...this is quite obviously genius. There are a total of four, perhaps five songs in which the lyrics flow and make any sort of sense...the others are more or less meaningless nonsense. One has to wonder if words and/or phrases were written on little pieces of paper, thrown into a hat, and pulled randomly to compose these song lyrics.
"Demons" has its moments with its haunting keyboards, Zakk Wylde "wah" guitarwork, and melodic, vocal harmonies. "Templo Mayor" is slow, very memorable, and grinds away at the listener. It has some actual song structure and is probably the catchiest on the album. This song is as close to "Metal" as this album gets; a direct result of IT's shrieks. I had to check the band's website to be sure because I swear that "Irreligious" could very well have been written (and performed) by MARILYN MANSON. Album closer, "The Eight Sins Part II", is obviously a continuation of the closing track from the first album, but there is no way I am willing to revisit that CD to see if/how they may tie together!
I can say this for certain: the production is very good, almost outstanding. I know this because in an attempt to make the majority of these songs sound better, I had the stereo cranked way up. Unsurprisingly, my efforts were ineffective. "Angelseed & Demonmilk" is the band's second sin...maybe their long-term plan is to get it right by number eight.
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