Review of Raunchy - Confusion Bay

Danish metal kings Raunchy have wrought another album upon this world. Everyone seems to have made the same comparisons I have in that they sound like a mixture of Fear Factory and Strapping Young Lad. With this latest album, they’ve added a few more synth elements, so lets add a tablespoon of Soilwork to that description. This recipe has proven to be pretty delicious, the finished product is a nice, polished album.

When comparing this album to their previous one (Velvet Noise), Confusion Bay seems to have an increased number of catchy melodies. This doesn’t mean they’ve compromised any of their previous heaviness, it just means that the melodies are better and more thought out. I didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics on either album, but I think I remember something similar to masturbation or sucking dick or something of that nature; with a (terrible) name like Raunchy what did you expect? I don’t remember there being any slower tracks on Velvet Noise, but this album does have one or two. Surprisingly it’s a very nice song, the very Tiamat-esque “The Devil”.

One of the great elements of this band is a great variety in both song style and structure. “Watch Out” has an almost Rammsteinish feel to it at the beginning, with its club-techno beat, then the chorus changes the flow of the song by starting out with a beat change-up and bringing a sort of Devin Townsend screaming clean vocal moment. Then you’ll get a bass line buildup and you’ll be thrust right back into the chorus again. It’s these sort of unpredictabilities that make me want to listen to the whole album. For fans of Soilwork’s keyboard work, there are a couple of keyboard-heavy tracks as well, most notably the title track.

Raunchy has an interesting position in the world of metal. They can either appeal to both the underground and the mainstream, or they might have too many elements of both to appeal to either group. Either way, this is a pretty good album, just like Velvet Noise. There were moments that astounded me, then others that seemed a little predictable, albeit still enjoyable. Die-hard underground types should just avoid this one altogether, as it requires somewhat of an open mind to fully digest. Anyone who isn’t mired by self-imposed genre restrictions can thoroughly enjoy any Raunchy album, and Confusion Bay is no exception.

Wrathchild

Confusion Bay - Gotta love the keyboards
The Devil - Tiamat fans rejoice, this is a great track
Bleeding 2 - Basically combines all of the elements that make Raunchy a good band

Release Details

Raunchy

Confusion Bay

Comments

Related