The Faceless - Autotheism (2012)

The Faceless are back with a new album! First of all, this album is not called 'Opetheism', but I'll get back on that later.
For fans of their last album, 'Planetary Duality', this new album might be somewhat of a shock. It's not as 'brutal' or heavy as the previous album, actually a lot less. Needless to say, 'Autotheism' is not what you’d expect, but it's in a good way. This is one of those albums that flows so well that several songs kinda merge into 'one' song, especially during the more harmonious parts. It makes it feel like the album is supposed to be listened to in its entirety, which should be done to grasp the experience fully.

Like I said before, 'Opetheism' is already a widely used term to describe this album which has some truth to it I guess, but I feel like this is The Faceless delivering a different musical side of themselves. And they pull it off too.

Musically, this release is overall a bit more timid-feeling. It features a whole lot of clean vocals and lots of harmonious elements. But fret not, it still has that heavy side that we all know. Moreover,  they succeeded to mix these two aspects together very nicely. It's far from generic too, it even has saxophone solos if you can believe that. Which don't feel forced or cheesy at all somehow.

You could say that they've changed genres from Technical Death to Progressive Death on this release, or even 'Technical Progressive Death'. On the other hand it sounds a  bit like continuation of 'Planetary Duality'  but evidently not being a repeat of it.

Like any new album, it needs time to sink in, especially for such a progressive one as 'Autotheism'. There's already an amount of hate/protest for this release, or disappointment rather. Which to me seems kinda unplaced, seeing as this is a very interesting piece of music. As for if you will like this album or not, it's not a simple 'yes' or 'no'.

And above that, personally, I am not an experienced progressive enthusiast, but this album has really caught my ear. It's catchy and everything, I actually enjoy listening to it. Somehow I still feel like a numerical rating of this album won't be as accurate or justified as it should be, but I will try to anyways. On the other hand I can say with confidence that this album is a very interesting and intriguing piece of musicality and a show of great musicianship.

Summary
A new interesting side of The Faceless. This release makes for an intriguing listen and is definitely an impressive addition to the Progressive Death spectrum.

Rating
7.5
 
Purchase
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Links
Record Label, 'Summerian Records'
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Claws - Absorbed in the Nethervoid (2009)

Some partly groovy-ish old school death metal. This finnish one-man band, created by Lasse Pyykkö, delivers a decent sounding record as its debut.

Being an old school death metal album, this album goes back to the roots of earlier times which sounds nicely familiar to the ears while not being /that/ overly generic or dull at the same time with the use of appealing riffs, sometimes. There's not that much to say about this record. Yes, some tracks do stand out a bit, but musically, it's not something that will blow you away.

The guitarwork is overall nicely executed, but it lacks intensity and memorability in both riffs and solos. Vocals, also performed by Lasse, prominently consist of low growls with some variation in small places which suits the genre but isn't that interesting.

All in all this record could be put into the imaginary bin of 'all the others'.

Summary

Nothing special. A plain average listen, there isn't anything that can't be found on other death metal records. More or less suited for music you'd play in the background.

Rating

5.0

Standout Track

Cacophonous Carrion

Links

MySpace + Purchase Info

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