Review of Atrox - Orgasm

When a band tries to categorize themselves as being in some awesome sounding new genre, like ultra-technical-math-country-death-jazz, I’m generally very skeptical. More often than not, it’s just another clone of Mr. Bungle or worse, a clone of At The Gates trying to make themselves seem like something different and better. Atrox proudly describe themselves as schizo-metal, and that’s definitely hitting the nail on the head. “Schizo-metal” can be taken to mean a few things in the case of Atrox; on each individual album, the music varies greatly from song to song and the general demeanor or tone of the music is very frenzied and somewhat erratic. The other schizophrenic quality is the amount of change between albums. They’re clearly a band that doesn’t like stagnation and every new album sees some kind of departure from the previous. The departure from their debut album, Mesmerized, to their second, Contentum, was an enormous leap, making it almost impossible to tell it was the same band (Monika herself says that Mesmerized isn’t a good representation of what the band was interested in doing, even at the time it was released). Terrestrials was another further leap from Contentum, and a great leap at that, marking a more consice brand of songwriting. Orgasm is definitely not anywhere near as far from its predecessor as the other albums were from theirs, but that’s a good thing. Atrox is at a stage in their musical career where they’ve found their niche and are fine-tuning their sound instead of drastically altering it. Now that our little history lesson is complete, you might want to know what the album sounds like, and why it’s so damn good, right? Well, I’ll first say that this may be neither for the faint of heart nor for people expecting a band that sounds like Lacuna Coil or The Gathering. There’s really nothing standard about the album, from songwriting, instrument usage, to lyrical content and vocals. If you’re not familiar with Atrox, when you first hear the vocals you’ll probably be slightly taken aback. For the most part they’re what I’d call pleasant and beautiful, but always very far from traditional. There are even some times when the singing borders on uncomfortable, but in a good way, if that makes any sense at all. As far as the actual music goes, it’s a good deal heavier than I was expecting. The riffs are chunky and the guitar is used just as much as an addition to the rhythm section as it is to create the main melody of the song. The tone of the music isn’t at all depressing, a refreshing change of pace from much of what’s put out in metal today. Quite the contrary, it ranges from quirky to dreamy, with the occasional more aggressive moments. Adding to the atmosphere at almost all times are the keyboards, more often providing a backdrop of subtle touches than leading the way. One of the most notable improvements over past releases is Atrox’s better use of odd times, stop and go riffing and other elements that showcase their great musicianship without seeming overbearing or pretentious. This is apparent in all the songs, but especially so in the closer Traumas/Fact Sense. While the album was initially very pleasing (probably because I’m quite familiar with the band), repeated listens drew out many distinctive qualities in each song and an album that matures well as this one has is a true keeper. The really odd thing about it is that although it’s clearly in a genre all its own, there are little things here and there that keep the listener aware that the music is in fact rooted, somewhat loosely, in gothic doom metal. Another point that’s been fine-tuned very well is the production. Everything is crystal clear and at just the right level in the mix. It feels like there were no corners cut, no inhibitions, leading me to believe that the switch to code666 was a good move for the band. Orgasm packs more punch than any previous Atrox releases, partially due to heavier songwriting, but fully realized by an expert job of melding everything into its exact right place. The bottom line about this album is that if you’re willing to embrace things that aren’t exactly standard and maybe challenge yourself a bit by listening to something whose charms aren’t as initially apparent as they’ll become with repeated listens, then I say give this a go. I find music like that more rewarding. If it doesn’t sound like something up your alley, don’t waste your time, or do, you never know; an album this good might just change your mind.

Release Details

Atrox

Orgasm

Comments

Related