Chamaeleon - Sick and Perverted

Chamaeleon is a relatively new Greek/Russian duo consisting of Alex distributing harsh, distorted vocals and his partner in crime Azie using the synthesizers. I really did enjoy the look of this band when I was just browsing them on the internet, learning as much as I could about them (this, of course, means taking a look at their FaceBook and MySpace pages, and checking out their page on the Artificial Sun bandcamp page).

While I have reviewed some of the record label's bands, I find that a lot of them are less than stellar (such as all the industrial metal the label has under their thumb). However, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw that this duo is a tehcno/aggrotech act. I raised an eyebrow, and checked them out.

I will admit, like a lot of others have admitted in the now, that the industrial scene is becoming over saturated with aggrotech bands. And, they say that because they all follow a similar path, and just try to act as evil as possible without any real love for what they're creating; at least that's how I see it. And, I can't really say that these guys don't fit that mold. Their music is very similar to a lot of what I've already heard, but there's just a few slight differences that make the stand out just a bit. Not by a whole lot, but enough to differentiate themselves from others.

I guess on this album, Sick and Perverted, what I'm finding to be somewhat delineating from the mainstream (dear God, I sound like a fucking hipster using that word) is that a lot of their beats are heavily techno oriented. Not necessarily the harsh EBM that really generates this movement anymore. I mean, yes, songs such as Out of Control Definitely has a lot of heavier backdrops, but a lot of the song has a very up beat synth work going on, and I'd compare to that of trance at movements. That with the repetitious sampling of someone saying, "Out of Control" regularly really put a contrast with the distorted vocals. However, it worked very well.

Before I continue, I will say that this is definitely a club oriented album. Each song can definitely be used to dance your ass off, or at least just get your body moving back and forth. Or, in my case, get my fro bobbing up and down. That being said, I enjoy all of the songs that are presented on the album. But, just because I enjoy them doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't without faults.

The main fault I find on this album is that it sticks to a very linear path. You have the techno and trance beats laced within each song, and the distorted vocals. The songs Out of Control, The Point of No Return, Sick and Perverted, and Transformation Complete all fall under this category. And that's over half the original, fresh tracks on the album.

What I did enjoy, however, were the tracks that used dual vocals, such as Beyond Reality. The regular, untouched vocals, fused with the distorted made for a pretty awesome difference with the very drum heavy track. And, the instrumental on the album, Into the Unknown was perhaps my favorite on the album. It's very sci-fi influenced, and would do good on a soundtrack.

Added onto all of this are two remixes. Out of Control was remixed by Headshock, and the duo definitely takes the song up a notch and makes it a bit more hardcore. I enjoyed the original mix more than the remix. And then The Point of No Return was remixed by Biomechanimal. The base dropped real low in this mix, and made for a darker form; the hardstyle team definitely revamped this song into something I enjoyed much more than the original mix.

All this being said, I actually have to congratulate both Artificial Sun and Chamaeleon for their efforts. For sticking away from industrial cyber metal, the label has introduced a fairly good aggrotech act that deserves more attention than most of its roster. And, the band deserves praise for making a decent first time release, and also one that I enjoy listening to. Praise to both of them on a job well done. Aug 02 2013