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When the 11-track CD had its first round in the player, it initially came across very System of a Down-like, which immediately changes in combination with the vocals. What emerges is an interesting mix of old and new school metal ideas, dominated by direct vocals that exhibit a pleasantly high level of intelligibility. Singer Markus also shouts quite well, but never goes into a growl, instead remaining precise and true to the metal milieu. However, he does struggle a bit in the softer parts and songs... that doesn't seem to suit him as well. The shoemaker should rather stay true to his emotional, fulminant lines! This also includes some hooklines. "Well thought..." would be what the coach in football would shout to someone who just missed a goal. Somehow, the "roll" is missing, but it's not rock if that suffices as an excuse, or is it simply due to the arrangement?
Musically, as mentioned, you can definitely tell that one or another SoaD idea is included; drummer Henna has definitely strapped a metronome to both legs and seriously hammers down his songs with well-placed accents and in a not too intrusive manner.
The two guitarists play what the fans want to hear, but there are already some cool licks in there, which are often the spice in metal. Solowise, not much happens compared to the drums; everything runs precisely to the last note, which also brings out good pressure from the sound image, although a bit more metal wailing would still do well. At times, the sound underscores the vocals like I mean my signature, and that’s how it should be. Nice thing!
The bass is the only sound exception. In the sparse solos, one is somewhat surprised by the raw sound, which, however, is not to be seen negatively. It rattles and doesn't just hum or kick and click. This seems to be the trash element mentioned in the band's lyrics. I think it's good...
So from a technical standpoint, I wouldn't have anything to complain about with their label Lex Cargo, as you want to sell something. At the latest during distribution, which runs through Cargo, when the disc is produced, I would have been surprised to hold my nose to the wind:
I like interestingly produced records; as I said, when I picked it up, I thought someone must have put in a mark or two, but regarding the sound, something went wrong. The vocals are so dominant that they stand out too much from the sound image. Did someone forget the mastering, did the mixers listen to the song just too often and not notice it in the end? This is an unpleasant phenomenon and happens, but someone must have noticed it? Aside from the fact that the singer is heavily reliant on the power of the music, as he would otherwise sometimes be overwhelmed, if he weren't so loud, he shouldn't have been placed as a quasi "super lead" right at the front. His guys stand at least 10 meters behind him!
Appearance isn't everything, just like marketing and MySpace, but still an overall good disc, which also gets an extra half point if my advice for a bit more experimentation and extravagance is heeded on the next disc.
Link: Code Red
Distribution: Cargo Records
