Post by thesoundmonitor on Feb 7, 2004 19:45:08 GMT -5
THE END
Within Dividia
(Relapse)
Canadian nutbags The End have confidently seized their opportunity with their second release, Within Dividia. Splicing the spleen-venting rage of hardcore, the precise double-bass percussion of faster death metal, and the order-within-chaos time signatures of the likes of Converge or Meshuggah, Within Dividia represents a new challenge to heavy music lovers around the world. A challenge that will be savoured by many punters, but one that many others will find beyond them.
Within Dividia is a concept album of sorts. The sepia-toned cover artwork - a foreboding mansion, a bare, torn mattress, a decaying body – all hint at the album's dark depths. Ultimately, the concept is little more than a mood setter. The lyrics are darkly poetic, but delivered in agonized screams that are important to the music only because they complement the overwhelming feeling of unease and discord.
The drums are the heart of the album. Anthony Salajko is a true craftsman, and his technical mastery is evident from the album's explosive opening salvo to it's sickening conclusion. Played off against this powerhouse are the jarring, angular guitars, an outpouring of crazy ideas that defy the listener to assimilate them and give them meaning.
The disturbing tension of the album's brain-squashing brutal tracks is cleverly interspersed with some slower passages and pieces. A horror movie is only scary when the scene is set, when we see the naïve college student sneaking out for a midnight swim. On Within Dividia, opening track 'These Walls' has an atmospheric segue that cakes on the fear with a trowel. Likewise with 'Dear Martyr'. The two slower tracks, 'The Sense Of
Reverence' and 'Orthodox Unparalleled' are like a brief, sweet lungful of air for a drowning man.
Listening to the album is akin to being attacked by piranhas. You might think you can protect yourself, but you can't. They come at you from every angle, hungry, cruel and relentless. In a matter of minutes you are nothing more than a skeleton, stripped bare and drifting slowly downward to the riverbed.
Scary stuff.
by Matt Harris
Within Dividia
(Relapse)
Canadian nutbags The End have confidently seized their opportunity with their second release, Within Dividia. Splicing the spleen-venting rage of hardcore, the precise double-bass percussion of faster death metal, and the order-within-chaos time signatures of the likes of Converge or Meshuggah, Within Dividia represents a new challenge to heavy music lovers around the world. A challenge that will be savoured by many punters, but one that many others will find beyond them.
Within Dividia is a concept album of sorts. The sepia-toned cover artwork - a foreboding mansion, a bare, torn mattress, a decaying body – all hint at the album's dark depths. Ultimately, the concept is little more than a mood setter. The lyrics are darkly poetic, but delivered in agonized screams that are important to the music only because they complement the overwhelming feeling of unease and discord.
The drums are the heart of the album. Anthony Salajko is a true craftsman, and his technical mastery is evident from the album's explosive opening salvo to it's sickening conclusion. Played off against this powerhouse are the jarring, angular guitars, an outpouring of crazy ideas that defy the listener to assimilate them and give them meaning.
The disturbing tension of the album's brain-squashing brutal tracks is cleverly interspersed with some slower passages and pieces. A horror movie is only scary when the scene is set, when we see the naïve college student sneaking out for a midnight swim. On Within Dividia, opening track 'These Walls' has an atmospheric segue that cakes on the fear with a trowel. Likewise with 'Dear Martyr'. The two slower tracks, 'The Sense Of
Reverence' and 'Orthodox Unparalleled' are like a brief, sweet lungful of air for a drowning man.
Listening to the album is akin to being attacked by piranhas. You might think you can protect yourself, but you can't. They come at you from every angle, hungry, cruel and relentless. In a matter of minutes you are nothing more than a skeleton, stripped bare and drifting slowly downward to the riverbed.
Scary stuff.
by Matt Harris