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May 17, 2012 |
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01. Far From God
02. Plasma Phantasma
03. Basic Black
04. Down Cold
05. Coma Burn
06. 2nd Last To Nowhere
07. Wavecell
08. Drowning Out The World
09. Tapes Of Their Voices
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"Dark Illusions", "An Evil Shade Of Grey", and "And Julie is No More"....These are just examples of some of the songs we loved by Sverige's CEMETARY (Mathias Lodmalm, Juha Sievers, Zrinko Culjak, Christian Saarinen, Anton Hedberg, Markus Nordberg, Tomas Josefsson, Anders Iwers, Christian Silver and Johnny Hagel ) a band that was introduced to the world of metal back in the early '90s. Dark, mysterious, eccentric...it seems to be a bittersweet end, but nothing is ever what it seems. Let's journey into the mind of mainman Mathias Lodmalm.
Blunt, raw, cutting edge, basic, nothing shy of brutal truth. Yes, I speak of just about every lyric written that I've seen and heard from Lodmalm. This is not just about CEMETARY's latest, "Phantasma" - this is about the first line sung, and the unsung reality he strives to relate through his music.
I asked friends, even family to help me out here. I said them, "If you've got any other music from this band, please send it to me. I must indulge myself, because I feel there is a bigger picture in which CEMETARY relentlessly tries to convey." Well, surprisingly enough, I got lucky - someone was kind enough to send me several CDs (excluding the non-metal "Spektra" techno funk project by Lodmalm) to sample more of Lodmalm's creations.
The objective for the moment is "Phantasma", an album that is (or was) said to disappoint most everyone. On the contrary, if one listens closely, they would understand Lodmalm giving closure to a past he may feel needs to buried and never thought of again. In certain aspects, we should all take that little piece of advice. Since "Phantasma" is my first introduction to CEMETARY, I have a few things to say indeed. The first track, "Far From God", sent me into retrospect and familiarity. At first I thought it sounded a lot like ROB ZOMBIE, SKINNY PUPPY, and even a little NINE INCH NAILS-ish, but I concluded half way through that there is no placement for this one. But the entirety reminds me of something along the lines of Industrial meets Black Metal. Track two, "Plasma Phantasma", is unleashing. - very different - a high definition of raw surrealism.
Track three, compelling in sound, wavy and flowing, "Basic Black" left me in a circle of time without end, as if seeing myself in movie stills. "Down Cold" is quite moving, almost sad, as if bumping into an old lover at a techno club and getting caught up in there essence once more. Like I said, almost sad. "Coma Burn" is hushy, whispery, silky, and melodic. I enjoyed listening to it a few times in a row. Track six, "2nd Last To Nowhere", is more along the lines of "get off your ass and dance"! Simply that! Track seven, a dreamy industrial type ballad, "Wavecell" is darkly erotic with a tempo of rough edged seduction. It draws me to a place of exotic solitude, a mysterious night on silver beaches with only the moonglow to guide a tiny lit path.
"Drowning Out The World" is another sexy ballad type, with husky vocals that could lure me into a lair of lust, perhaps even love. The skin gets warm, the soul gets hungry, and slowly slipping into "Tapes Of Their Voices". The words "Do you know what four years in a phsyciatric hospital can do to you?" are whispered and screamed in repetition mode. Then the music starts - a bit brashy to a familiar beat, much like the rest of the album, and when it was all over, I actually wanted more.
In the beginning of this overview of a band who seemingly went unnoticed (or so I have now read), I had gone through only the musical aspects to find a voice for this particular review of infamous albums. I read CEMETARY's lyrics and listened to the music; nothing more at that moment. Upon realizing later, it is perhaps my eccentricity that "Phantasma" is so compelling to me. It's worth buying in my opinion. It's worth the journey I went through. So if it's new to you (and to those of whom it isn't), backtrack a little bit and listen again.
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