The Musicianship of Henning Pauly us way up there, along with composers such as Arjen Anthony Lucassen and Nikolo Kotzev, and he proved so with his first
Frameshift project (as well as his solo material).
The first
Frameshift project titled
Unweaving the Rainbow (which featured James Labrie) dealt with biology being literally fucked by science and so on, bringing the whole genetic research controversy forward. But for
An Absence of Empathy, the concept deals with another harsh reality, brutal violence, rape, murder, etc., off of which is explored by the album's character, who enters this dark world inside his mind in the process of his curiosity, hence the words on the cover "Violence is the Last Refuge of the Incompetent," for which the concept requires a harder driving and grittier album than the first.
And who better to add the rough personality to the record than Sebastian Bach, whose vocal ability is really shown way beyond his days in
Skid Row where his powerful delivery is brought forth in full force; it really shows that Bach can sing this type of technical material extremely well and he is the perfect choice for this record.
The music comes complete with orchestrations, techno blips in the vein of Ozric Tentacles, and a lot of grinding heavy texturing from the axe attack; tracks such as the anthem of "
Miseducation," the despair ridden anger of "
Outcast," and the madness of "
Human Grain" offer the records violent edge, encompassing the concept to a T.
Other highlights include "
Just One," which sounds like a long lost track from Dream Theater's
Awake; "
I Killed You" with it's smoother Spock's Beard vibe (kind of a contrast to the title); and the balladry found in both "
What Kind of Animal" and "
In an Empty Room", making for such an astonishing record that is almost scary, considering the concept encompasses more of a reality focus rather than a sci-fi theme.
The record really invokes the spirit of
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (Dream Theater) and
One (Neal Morse), with a little bit of Chroma Key/OSI experimentation present really putting diversity within the musical splendor and melodic insanity that really has Pauly and Bach (along with drummer Eddie Marvin) pushing the envelope for such notable ear candy. Henning Pauly is pure fucking genius, making
Frameshift a force to be reckoned with.
Written by
Hashman Monday, July 4, 2005
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