Imicus

Animal Factory

Written by: PP on 30/09/2010 23:32:00

The main reason why I've delayed reviewing "Animal Factory" by Imicus for months now is simple: I just didn't believe a band with a name as awful as Imicus could possibly write music worthy of my precious reviewing time, so I procrastinated listening to it as long as humanly possible. The name really is that unattractive, and if it effectively prevented this scribe from checking out the band until absolutely necessary, I don't think there's a chance for any success outside their local scene, if even that. Of course, it doesn't help that your musical style sounds like someone accidentally read 2010 as 2001 when deciding what's relevant today. You see, "Animal Factory" is a faithful rendition of the US alternative metal, modern rock radio sound that dominated the airwaves before it died a slow and painful death by 2005. Which happens the be the year these guys formed, go figure.

Lucky for Imicus, I happened to like the alternative rock/metal/nu-metal genre quite a bit when it was younger, so an outright disaster "Animal Factory" certainly is not. Classic case of don't judge a book by it's cover, I guess. It features similar crunchy riffs and melancholic clean vocals as our local hard rock/alternative metal band Silence Of September, with slow, creeping tempo forming saddened moods throughout the album. They have an ear for strong melodies and decent choruses just like their Danish counterparts, that's for sure, and they seem to have ambition, too, as evident in Tool/A Perfect Circle-esque passages that pop up occasionally during the songs, either in terms of song structure or the vocal melody. It sounds slightly dated, sure, but as the title track demonstrates, it doesn't have to sound particularly relevant to contain a memorable melody and solid instrumentals. Especially the bass is superb in this track, sounding more or less exactly like "Lateralus"-era Tool in places.

Unfortunately we have to face reality and accept that people like me, who find the alternative metal of early 2000s entirely enjoyable, are few and far between in trend-obsessed music scene of the new decade. So while Imicus have collected a good number of simple, easily-accessible radio rockers here, I'm not sure there are enough people who still care.

6

Download: Animal Factory, Killer Lies, Keep Your Halo
For the fans of: Silence Of September, Finger Eleven (old)
Listen: Myspace

Release date 24.05.2010
Transcend Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.