YOGWhat an interesting tech-metal/grindcore unit to come out of Switzerland. These guys have been around since 2000 and back in their early days their main influences were Sick Of It All, Napalm Death, and Disrupt and now you can easily tell with one listen to "Years of Nowhere" where the band has gotten most of their influences from. Several people have said these guys sound like a cross between Jane Doe-era Converge and Calculating Infinity-era Dillinger Escape Plan and I couldn't agree more. Personally, those are two of my favorite albums and for a band to even come remotely close to emulating two of the greatest albums is a testament to their ability as muscians.
These fuckers sure know how to pack as much shit into two/minutes of music and this becomes evident when the first song "Love Process Failure" jump-starts this 13 track album. The second song "Mouth Full of Shit Cannot Bite" highlights the bands ability to inject melody and harmony into an otherwise abrasive and dissonant song. The fourth song "Secrets" is eerily similar to DEP, especially the bass line at the first minute of the song.
These guys are all over the place and throw all kinds of twists and turns in their songs but things never become jumbled and it is remarkable the level of melody that they are able to achieve which brings to life the comparison of Jane Done-era Converge.
Though I like the artwork of the forest and the eery looking yellow sun it is common for this type of music. One problem I have with the layout is how rather than including the lyrics to each song they just described what each song is about. For example: "Mouth Full of Shit Cannot Bite asks about what should be said in songs or not." Would have been a good idea if they would've also included the lyrics because it's not exactly easy to pick out the 61 adjectives that the singer uses to define humans in "Good Average."
Rating: 4.5/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: "Secrets", "Love Process Failire" & "Dark Bliss"
Synopsis: One of the best new tech bands I have heard in awhile. Their ability to shift gears is amazing, they can hit you with mind numbingly fast tempos
in crazy time signatures, and the next moment they are playing a somewhat straight forward powerchord riff. Their ability to mix things up kept me interested throughout the duration of the album's 13 tracks. Even the 9 minute track at the end of the album kept my attention throughout. A job well done guys!
Also the label is selling this thing for fucking $5! If that's not a deal than I don't know what is:
187 Records Webstore