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Thank the gods metal had to evolve. Gone are the days of the almost
mindless chugga-chugga riffs with equally banal throat wrenching screams
labeled "vocals". While not a fan of metal per se, I do
know there were redeeming qualities that I couldn't disregard; passion,
intensity, attitude and a pure simplicity of being. That's why I have
encouraged the slow transformation of the genre into what has become
the Nu-metal sub-species. Now, I know, I know, Nu-metal has been around
for a long time, it's just that it has never felt as defined as it
does now with Djevara. It finally has found a perfectly evolved
form, that is not a derivative, but a fully-formed entity all entirely
its own.
While I could draw comparisons to Sevendust or Rage Against
The Machine, Djevara grab these influences and take them beyond
to a new plain of existence; adding acid-trippy distortion across
the board to create an atmosphere past the music, an ambiance greater
than the whole, while still maintaining my favorite parts of what
metal truly is. What's more is that they do it with panache and intelligence,
never succumbing to paying obeisance to any set style. That's how
they completely own the material and successfully create the definitive
definition of Nu-metal.
I can't escape the feel of the album - it manages to hypnotize while
varying around the spectrum, creating nice ebbs and flows, but always
maintaining that crucial intensity. Vocals give the biggest push to
the sound as the double-layered psychedelic lines give the greatest
emphasis to what is a hard or slow song, and create some choice anthems.
Guitars are nothing mind-blowing but they sure know what they are
doing as they give interesting divergence between the heavy sections
and the purely melodic. Drums pound away ceaselessly, accurately using
double bass without killing it to the point of annoyance. Production
does an adept job of balancing all of these actions forming intricate
songs that fit the theme of the entire album.
So forget what you know about other contenders to the crown of Nu-metal.
We have a new King, by which all other pretenders will now be measured
against.
Long live the King.
-bishop
Track listing:
1) Third World War
2) The Death Of Cliff Richard
3) Autism
4) Moths To The Flame
5) The Consumer
6) Six Hundred Years Of Your Civilization And My People Still Live
In Poverty
7) Diorama
8) Freedom's Ghost
9) Film At Eleven
10) Chapter Two
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