There’s such an abundance of sub-styles on today’s metal stage you sometimes feel at a deadlock as to which label should be pinned on one band or another. Were you even searching for an artist playing a sort of fucking-melodic-black-power-jazz-techno-metal I bet my bottom dollar you’d find one.

Thankfully, Norwegian trio Communic managed to embrace various metal genres with their debut not overburdening it with any inconsistent elements at the same time. Nevermore, Pain Of Salvation, Porcupine Tree, and Evergrey were only a few names instantly crossing my mind while scrutinizing this work for the fist time. In places, though a rare case, it borders on a much darker side of Metal and reminds me of Opeth, Soilwork and In Flames. Even so I wouldn’t unambiguously ascribe the band to a particular category of metal. Incarnating some of the traits intrinsic to all of the mentioned above to a greater or lesser degree they, however, sprout out of their own tillage skillfully utilizing the tools invented in the remote past. Quite tangible progressive and thrash substances filtered through their Nordic sense of melody are measurably shuffled here with subtle power, doom and groovy elements. Melodies. Yeah, I think this is the very thing figuring the band’s signature for the time being. I’ve no idea where on earth they dig them out, maybe somewhere in the heart of the gray Norway fiords, but they are weird enough to make this record matchless.

I wouldn’t exaggerate if I said that this is one of those albums that just baffle all description yet I’ll try to do it, at least I’ll scratch the surface of each track so that you’ll have some general tips of what there is on hand.

Conspiracy In Mind (time - 7:38): No sooner did Oddleif Stensland (guitar/vocals) join in the battering cannonade of the rest of the band than I knew beyond doubt what kind of swill he uses to lubricate his tonsils. This is presumably the very stuff Nevermore’s lead singer Warrel Dane usually takes at his most inspirational moments. Oddleif possesses a similar vibrant voice yet his singing is a bit more high-pitched in places and has its own singularity. Unexpected turns from irrepressible aggression to nearly romantic parts, murky thrashy bridges, half-acoustic interludes in the vein of Pain Of Salvation or Porcupine Tree, rhythm changes, brief but multiple solos – all is here to please the most cultivated taste. The bass work is especially transparent in the mellower parts.

History Reversed (6:48): A beauty and might combined in a strong half-balladesque piece here. Resting mostly on a placid nearly gallant structure it once more has lots of that progressiveness characteristic of the first track.

They Feed On Our Fear (9:53): And again the sophistic of the half-acoustic guitar fingering is deeply intertwined with thrashy aggression growing into a sheer madness by the middle of the song.

Communication Sublime (7:28): another specimen of superb power-progressive features incessantly balancing on the verge of thrash. Mostly repeating the chaotic tempo and structure of the title piece it still has a very catchy, yet dark chorus here.

The Distance (7:56): Holding to the melodic and tempo lines of the second track, this one sounds somewhat repetitive, though it would surely be of a more concern were it taken up without the context.

Ocean Bed (6:44): This one stands some steps away from the rest of the album in proposing a distinct nearly poppy refrain, but it looks quite alluring with its rhythm guitar splashes and funny keys in its power thrash shell. A bass solo break in the middle is very attractive.

Silence Surrounds (10:54): This one is my favorite. I feel so overwhelmed with my emotions I could write the whole treatise about this one, so I’ll hold my horses just saying this is a very distinguished mostly an up-tempo track with the sticky riffs spreading over the main structure like a hot raging lava and featuring lots of turns, rhythm changes, solo licks, and a brilliant piece of work of the rhythm section.

At the end you are presented with two hidden bonus tracks, a radio version of The Distance and a carbon copy of Conspiracy In Mind which, in my opinion, are somewhat out of place here.

To crown it all, it’s a unique metal canvas with minor inessential shortcomings as the sameness of some tracks and a whole mass of positive which, no doubt, tip the scale in the final analysis. I just feel it in my bones this work will find favor in the eyes of progressive and thrash metalheads in the first place. For example, a friend of mine, whose predilections mostly fall within the mentioned styles, literally went into raptures after listening to it. So this two-year-old band from Norway with such a weighty debut and a long-term deal with Nuclear Blast at their disposal betoken something exciting on the horizon as long as they keep on sticking to their guns, of course. According to the band’s website their sophomore release is in the pipeline and this one is reported to be even heavier and more aggressive. Meanwhile I tick it off in my book hoping the guys won’t fail to deliver the goods.

This entry was posted by CENOTAPH on Friday, 27th January, 2006 at 3:25 and is filed under Reviews, Communic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response below. You may view a   printable version of this page. You may download this page in   PDF format.