The Esoteric

Subverter

Written by: TL on 09/12/2006 16:43:07

Looking at the artwork and reading the promotional material for Kansas five-piece The Esoteric, it's hard not get the feeling, that the new record "Subverter" is going to take you along on a journey into some sort of experimental weirdness. Scissors and marble - and.. well, see for yourself - all make up for the promise of something quite original.

But since it's not the artwork that's up for reviewing, let me just describe how the feeling of having a cold bucket of water poured over your head, will hit you when you actually put the record on. Sure, the low-fi riff that opens "Destroy, She Said" is quite characteristic, but it's hardly anything you wouldn't have heard before. Neither are the coarse screamy vocals that don't change much and make the listening a rather tedious affair, even though the quite obvious and catchy chorus quickly catches on, and the heavy riffage does an effort at keeping things rocking. The next songs don't change the impression much. Things get a little bit more metallic, and a little bit more chaotic, but still, the controversial time signatures, and sudden breakdowns never really accomplish anything except they make you think that you've heard it all before. Neither do the atmospheric guitar pieces that swoops in from time to time, adding some post- to the hardcore and reminding you a bit of Misery Signals.

The CD is not entirely without its moments though. "We Will Not Be Convinced" manages to stand out with some character, by having a very punkish beginning. Sadly it falls on its face midsong, slowing down and ends up sounding like any other song on the album. "Clone Culture And The Cut-Up Method"'s melodic beginning and electrifying riffage veritably suceeds at stirring up some hints of passion or aggression, but being the last song on the album, you'll just be wondering what took the band so long? And none of those songs are actually better than average songs when compared to some of the alternatives from the genre.

The Esoteric is a band that really needs to do something different to make their music more interesting. The total lack of diversity in the vocals makes you want to go to sleep, and most importantly, the all too familiar compositions are too monotonous to make you want to pay attention. And when one of the two elements suddenly seems to raise itself a bit, it's instantly dragged down by the other. "Clone Culture And The Cut-Up Method" is the only song on this record that actually made me wanna listen more closely, and noting that there are nine tracks before it that don't work as well, you're not likely to ever make it through to it. Some hardcore bands have overwhelming aggresion, some have amazing originality and some have mindblowing technicality. The Esoteric just has a long way to go before they have any of these or anything else that would make me want to grade them higher than just average.

5

Download: "Clone Culture And The Cut-Up Method", "We Will Not Be Convinced"
For the fans of: Misery Signals, Generic Hardcore music
Listen: MySpace

Release Date 30.10.2006
Prosthetic
Provided by Target ApS

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