Here is a band that is set for a great future. The 3-piece Norwegian band
Communic has unleashed their debut album and it is very impressive. Conspiracy in Mind is filled with heaviness, energy and power and even comes close to matching
Nevermore in terms of intensity. The band still has some way to go before they can match their level but
Nevermore was the first band that came to mind when I listened to the album.
Jag Panzer was another. Singer Oddleif Stensland has a good range and I hear bits of both
Warrel Dane and Harry Conklin in his voice, which suits the music very well. The music is extremely heavy and has a very melancholic atmosphere, mainly due to Oddleif's voice and his guitar sound. Yes, this guy is both vocalist and single guitarist in the band and his work is simply impressive. Tor Atle Andersen on drums brings another standout performance to the table. At times his playing gives the impression of someone dragging themselves through a muddy swamp and other times of boxing bags being smashed through the air with giant drumsticks. Eh, or something like that. Well, he certainly gives the music the right groove and along with Erik Mortensen provides the tight rythm section.
Even though the music is very aggressive there is always a feeling of tight control. Fast and heavy parts blend well with slower, more atmospheric moments. The songs are all very long, ranging from 6:44 to 10:54 in running time. This puts a lot of pressure on the arrangements and songwriting and this is also one of the places where there is room for improvement in the future. Several songs feel less cohesive and more like a lot of great ideas mixed together, but lacking the magic glue to bind all the elements together.
Blast-off is quickly reached when the title track thunders through the speakers with a guitar riff that will knock you a few feet into the ground. The melancholic atmosphere is there right from the start and is kept through the album. The slower middle part of the song works really well too. Other highlights include
History reversed, which has a slick guitar melody that creates a special mood of despair and chaos right from the start, the strangely familar and slightly haunting
Ocean bed and
Communication Sublime which has a beginning that defines heaviness and some of the best drum work on the album.
I love the beginning of
The distance which is a really good example of the atmosphere the band captures. This song also has Oddleif hitting the very high notes and it is one of the most memorable parts of the album. The song has a very capturing chorus but overall I feel the song would have been even better if it had been more compact. That is my main problem with some of these songs. They feel a little strecthed out on occasion.
They feed on fear is a 10 minute beast that might start feeding on your patience. It sets a fantastic atmosphere right from the start. Held back, ready to explode, but never does to a completely satisfying degree. Even though it has some great passages the song is not quite able to hold up the intensity for the full ten minutes and I feel it lacks that magic glue thing.
The 11-minute
Silence surrounds rounds of the album on an epic note. With many cool and well executed passages it does still feel a little too messy to work 100%.
The CD version I just purchased has two bonus tracks. Another Distance (Piano version) is The Distance with just vocals and keyboard. With a different keyboard sound this would have sounded so much better. The keyboard just has a cheap sound to it. Conspiracy in mind is just a shortened version of the title track.
If you like heavy music that will make you bang your head madly but also make you sit back and be impressed at the musicianship and the little details in the music then
Communic is a band that you should check out. With the potential on display here the stage is set for a very exciting future.
Written by
Steen Friday, April 8, 2005
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