Alchemist - Organasm Relapse
Aversion Online

Now this is some tripped out shit. I had no idea what to expect from this Australian act, I just knew that it was going to be pretty creative, and there is a lot of odd stuff going on here. One listen to opening track "Austral Spectrum" will be enough to thoroughly confuse anyone: Pummeling, heavy rhythmic grooves and brutally resonant vocal shouts, tribal percussive influences, occasional middle eastern guitar melodies. all just shy of six minutes in length!? Just bizarre. And that's not even the complete picture! Aside from the basic rhythms there are also some technical guitar runs, in addition to the shouting there is some deep singing, etc. And I haven't even gotten into the prog-rock elements! "Rampant Macro Life" and its intense layers of swirling clean guitars and spacey synths has more in common with Pink Floyd than any metal band, and yet the track eventually develops into one monstrously aggressive, somehow melodic composition. I like the production, aside from the painfully digital sounding drums. I have to assume that the extremely mechanical and unnatural drum tones are intentional, but I can't imagine why with such a warm, dense sound happening everywhere else. The guitars are dense yet clear, the bass pounds away in the distance (not quite as prominent as it should be), and the keyboards often know their place (though songs like "Warring Tribes - Eventual Demise" do get obnoxiously out of hand in this department). The lyrics explore topics of history and evolution, truth, and nature, among other things. Some of the phrasings are a bit basic, but there are also some really curious ideas going on that fit in very well with the group's unique musical direction. There's definitely room for improvement with the layout though. The front cover is perfectly fine, but the inner sleeve's color schemedoesn't work at all, and the font choices are often too plain. All in allthis is a very intriguing album from a band that has a great deal of potential at their disposal. The only thing holding it back are a few songwriting flaws that largely rest at the hands of overpowering and annoying keyboards. A more organic drum sound and more subdued and controlled synths would make this a masterpiece, because the overall approach really defies comparison.
Running time - 50:38, Tracks: 10[Notable tracks: Austral Spectrum, Tide In, Mind Out]

Aversion Online