AudioCentesis - Force Majeure

AudioCentesis is a very good band, slamming their aggrotech, electro-industrial styles in your face without regret, and for good measures, too. They don't suck at what they do, in fact, they're quite good at the music they thrust themselves into. And they prove it with 'Force Majeure'. However, this album does tend to get a little boring throughout, without those major songs that hit all the bells and whistles that leave you wanting more like a sex starved nymphomaniac.

The prologue is interesting, to say the least, but it really doesn't fit the rest of the album. It gives off dark, atmospheric noises that are typically found in that of ambient soundscapes, but also has some light piano noise within it. And it features a man called Blackwolf the Dragonmaster...And when I looked him up with a quick Google search, it came up with pictures of a man who enjoyed dressing up as a wizard for Renaissance fair. I may not be the one to judge, but that sounds more fitting for Folk metal rather than aggrotech. But, industrial is all about experimentation, so I suppose that I can make an exception...This one time.

Now, getting off my rant about Blackwolf and heading on into the crevices of the album, I found the next song pretty redeeming. "Made Manifest" starts off with these ghost noises similar to that of the haunts you would hear in an abandoned medical asylum, but it leads off straight into an electro beat which I absolutely adored. It made the happiness inside me giggle. The vocals were rough, and harsh, almost like what you would hear from distorted vocal work, just without the distortion. It was a very dance, club like song, and this sets a trend for the rest of the album, but not in a good, nor bad, way.

The rest of the album retires into distorted vocals unlike "Made Manifest", with some special effects sometimes surrounding them, like in "Casting Shadows". Wherein a sort of choir effect can be found occasionally accompanying the main vocals. But, other than a few changes to the actual range of distortion, the album doesn't much change for the rest of the songs.

The title song, "Force Majeure", follows this trend, but there's just something that sticks out a little more with this song than the others. I really enjoyed the way the singing, or rather tortured voice flows with the music. But the beginning of the song was the kicker for me, as it just builds up into this awesome electro beat. And makes it pretty kick ass. And, although this song is great, it still cannot save the rest of the album.

While most of the songs aren't absolutely horrible, they aren't the greatest thing since sliced bread, either. I enjoyed the album, that can certainly be said, but it just seems to follow a pattern a little too often. "Made Manifest" and "Force Majeure" were the redeeming points of this album, but the rest of the album is sort of forgetful. The album definitely deserves a listening to, because the songs presented are very dance oriented, but that's also the sad part; they would fit right along within a giant mix of other aggro songs. And that means that no matter how bright they try to shine, they won't ever really have an identity of their own. Nov 28 2012