This review was commissioned. However, it bears no weight on the score or decision. All reviews are written from an unbiased standpoint.
Black Signal is the type of band you put on when you’re not in the mood for anything too serious. Just look at the description on their Bandcamp page; it reads, “The spark ignites. The robot army comes online.” But, hey, that’s not a bad thing; dumb fun is still fun and that’s exactly what this dude (or sentient robot) is aiming to do. As far as I can see Black Signal has been doing his thing since 2019 when “PARALLELS” launched and hasn’t stopped since. A few things of merch, (including some hot sauce), T-Shirts, and a persona of an amalgamation of the Biker from Hotline Miami and Samus Aran from Metroid. These characteristics combine to form a blend of moody synths and gritty guitars for a synth-metal hybrid act who has the style that backs the substance.
“The Destruction” is the topic of conversation today and it begins with an intro titled “Intro”. Shocking, I know. This fifty-six second little demonstration puts you into the bones of an organic yet bionic body horror atmosphere coming to life, ready to dominate and takeover whichever planet it so chooses prior to its ‘Arrival’. This three-and-a-half-minute number doesn’t contain the best guitar riffs in the world, but the four-on-the-floor synth lines give it some life. Sure, this isn’t going to be useful for intense listening sessions for entertainment purposes, but I could easily see it fitting into a gym playlist on the regular.
The next song title is pretty cheesy, combining what I see as the artist’s love for both Chelsea Wolf and the campy 80s show Airwolf in one title ‘Chelsea Air Wolf’. But I was impressed by the morbid pace of the song and the stinging, doom like atmosphere that he was able to create with it. ‘Night Blade’ is a dark synth track through and through; fans of the genre will find something to appreciate even if it is a bit by the books in the long run.
‘Hellfire’ plays around with a kick drum pretty well, slamming and bamming left and right without care for who is in the way; punchy and aggressive. ‘Skybreaker’ falls much in line with what we’ve heard so far; eerie sci-fi noises and synths cutting through rigid guitar. ‘The Forge’ gives us a small break between the songs, lasting a minute-and-a-half before dispersing into nothingness. There’s not too much to say about ‘S.N.A.K.E.S.’ that I so far haven’t admitted to myself (or to you, as a matter of fact.) ‘Whips of Lazer Flame’ does a great job of pitch shifting a synth line here and then to make it sound exactly like a whip of lazer flame; slow motion patterns of flames roiling through the air. The final two tracks aren’t anything huge; ‘The Harvest’ gives us a final dance number while ‘Departure’ is exactly that. A melancholic end to the album, credits roll, end scene.
So the good news about Black Signal is that what he does is fantastic; good production, good beats, good aesthetic and style. Seriously, the artwork is phenomenal and his T-Shirts are dope (I might have to buy a tee to LIFT with). But where he falters is in his musical style; you put most of this music on any dark synth playlist and you won’t be able to differ this stuff from someone else’s. So, like so many other dark synth artists, he needs to break the mold and find his own calling. Find something unique, find something that works for you and no one else. Once that happens he’s going to explode. As of right now, however, Black Signal’s music is good for background noise whilst doing chores, or pump music whilst lifting at the gym.
