Taylor Swift - 1989 Review

Taylor Swift - 1989 (Pop)

Taylor Swift's 5th studio album, titled 1989, is set to be released later in 2014. Quoting Swift herself, "[the album has] already evolved into a new sound, and that's all I wanted". 

Swift also stated in an interview that the choice of album title was meant as a tribute to the popular music made during and around her birth year. From the artist herself: "I have a few artists in the late eighties who I think made the most incredible, bold, risky decisions as far as pop music goes ... like Annie Lennox and what Madonna was doing ...".

Any expectations of an "incredible" or "bold" direction, to say nothing of a "new sound", are however quickly dampened by the opening track, "Welcome To New York". The song opens with a bunch of annoying synthesizer sounds - the kind you hear when walking by some kid gleefully hammering the keyboards on display at any Yamaha outlet. Then, Swift's irritatingly bland vocals eventually kick in, and you wish that you really were in your local Yamaha store hearing that kid mashing that $99 unit. 

The album continues in largely the same vein until the sixth track and lead single, "Shake It Off". To her credit, Swift has always actively participated in writing her own songs, and "Shake It Off", considered as a whole, appears to be a worthy song at first glance. It speaks of brushing off criticism and negativity - a positive message which I endorse wholly. However, upon hearing the song, one immediately understands why, as Swift eloquently pens, "haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate". The track starts off okay enough - with a drum intro - and then Swift's trademark awful, auto-tuned vocals barge into the soundscape, never to let up (or, perhaps, improve).

It is not explicitly stated whether this song is meant to be taken from Swift's own perspective ("I go on too many dates/But I can't make 'em stay" - input from Taylor Swift fans appreciated!); it would be a sad thing if it is, though. It's one thing to approach 'hate' with confidence and positivity; it's another to be oblivious to your own shortcomings (whether in music or otherwise) and blithely dismiss others as critics or haters.

The song that follows immediately after, "I Wish You Would", somehow proves to be even more irritating. As with "Shake It Off", Taylor Swift draws inspiration from the legendary lyricists (of 1989?) and manages to come up with all-time great lines like "I, I, I, I wish, I wish, I, I, I, I wish, I wish". 

The writing credits for this particular track are given to Swift and one Jack Antonoff, who is also responsible for the dreadful "Out Of The Woods". Perhaps unsurprisingly, the chorus to that song goes like this:

"Are we out of the woods yet?

Are we out of the woods yet?

Are we out of the woods yet?

Are we out of the woods?

Are we in the clear yet?

Are we in the clear yet?

Are we in the clear yet?"

However, lest there be any confusion, the blame for such brainless and repetitive lyrics must fall on Swift and not Antonoff. This nonsense has been a recurring theme throughout her career; Swift defenders who are unaware of this are in trouble, trouble, trouble, for they might have amnesia.

Overall, the album is standard Taylor Swift fare: run-of-the-mill music, sub-par vocals and lyrics that kindergarten students would scoff at. There are literally no saving graces to be found here. I've done my dues and listened to the album once through, and boy am I glad to finally be out of the woods.

☆☆☆☆☆

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry Review

Fantastic artwork by Kristian “Necrolord” Wåhlin

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry [Black Metal]

I don't understand why Blut Aus Nord isn't as popular as it should be, these guys are far ahead of the pack in the black metal genre, rivaled only by fellow French black metallers Deathspell Omega. This is Blut Aus Nord's third release of the year (Buckethead thinks this is cute), and sees them returning to the Memoria Vetusta series. The first of the trilogy is a black metal classic, the second was divisive but has a generally favourable consensus. This series shows off Vindsval's (the one man behind Blut Aus Nord) melodic side.

1. Prelude - Well, yeah.
2. Paien - First proper song, and it sets the bar really high. The music is straight forward, and new drummer Thorns brings a welcome change in Blut Aus Nord's sound (this is the first live drum album in god knows how many years), but the focus has always been Vindsval's guitar melodies. Even his auto-tuned vocals are used minimally, something that's hard to find in metal. That melody from the 2:30 mark onwards.... And it does not drop in quality for the next five minutes.
3. Tellus Mater - Starts off with a great melody (seriously, this guy's melodies are nuts). It's a warmer song than the first. The composition is especially strong here; Vindsval builds tension, let's it dissipate, builds it up again. He lets a melody linger on for jut enough time without sounding repetitive.
4. Forhist - Again, another triumph in composition. It starts off with the usual, but slowly melts into an acoustic interlude, not in the jarring way that most bands are doing these days. It is unexpected, but still sounds natural. Also, shout out to the amazing production. A lot of the choruses here are chanted out, which is an excellent use of auto-tune. Some strong guitar melodies toward the 7 minute mark.
5. Henosis - Who would have thought you could find passionate, religious lyrics this far into a black metal album? This song uses the most clean vocals, but it's interesting to note that he incorporates them as melodies intertwined with the music rather than a mouthpiece for lyrics. 
6. Metaphor Of The Moon - One of  the stronger songs on the album. Well produced drums, this song chugs mostly at mid-pace. Several transcendental moments here.
7. Clarissima Mundi Lumina - Save the best for last? The clean vocal chorus is very new to Blut Aus Nord's soundscape. This one also boasts my favourite lyrics on the album. There is enough variation and all, but I wish the song were longer. It's the kind of ending that leaves a lasting impression.

As you can see, I have almost nothing bad to say about this album. The sound is wonderfully mixed and mastered, at DR9, which is heaps above the industry standard. You can hear all the elements, but the album still retains some warm buzz without sounding ultra-clean. Strong, minimalist lyrics all round without moronic blasphemous lyrics. If anything, the only complaint is that this album isn't as good as other Blut Aus Nord albums, but that an artiste has no competition besides its own catalog is the highest praise it can receive. An excellent record, and the second time I bestow a perfect rating on a Blut Aus Nord album on this website.

★★★★★

Babymetal - Babymetal Review

Babymetal - Babymetal [J-Pop / Djent]

Japan has heard your cries for weirder bands and has answered promptly; Babymetal is a project that fuses djent instrumentation with J-Pop melodies. The girls in this 'band' do nothing but sing and execute synchronized dance steps like any other pop outlet.

The unique thing here, however, is that neither of the aforementioned genres are watered down. I've been seasoned to bands like Dir En Grey and Maximum The Hormone (which remains one of the most kick ass weird bands from Japan) and I have have to say that none of that has prepared me for anything from this album. Suffice to say, the album's outrageous, and in a good way. The contrasting styles actually work really well together, and producer Kobametal (it's okay if you don't want to reveal your real name bro) has been sensible enough to mix up various styles throughout the songs that keeps you guessing.

1. Babymetal Death - kicks off with some decent riffs and double pedals, and ends with a tasty solo after introducing the three girls. 
2. Megitsune - Fully flexes its J-Pop sensibilities, with synths taking over after a brief folk instrumentation. The chorus is especially catchy. The song takes a sudden black metal turn in the bridge, and it sounds so tightly written. 
3. Gimme Chocolate!! - A personal favourite from the album, this song ventures further into djent territory with staccato vocals and heavy instrumentation. As with the second song, has a catchy chorus. It still has space for thrash metal solos at the end. 
4. Iine! - Another weird as hell song, with a heavy disco backdrop that somehow accommodates death metal vocals and a sudden rap break (what?!). This song was obviously written as a single to completely shock audiences, which ins't that bad in Japanese context. As of onw I am still unsure what to feel for this song, but it's seriously not bad. 
5. Akatsuki - one of the faster songs on the album, and less weird. This one borrows a bit from power metal, with soaring vocals and keyboards. I did not enjoy this song so much but it may appeal more to the power metal purists. It does have a glorious NWOBHM solo section in the middle, though. 
6. Doki Doki ☆ Morning - A shameless djent song that actually is enjoyable. The Japanese have this quality to their guitar work that is quite hard to put a finger on- in that it's heavy but still sounds friendly. It could just be the production but it's something I have observed in their music and anime-soundtracks. 
7. Onedari Daisakusen - A rap song. Not too big on rap songs, and this doesn't change my stance much. The cute vocals don't work well for rap, in my opinion. 
8. Song 4 - Another great track with rhythmic verses. The guitar work is especially great here, and it fucks with your mind while alternating between easy-listening and death metal. It's an idea that would fail on paper but turns out to be quite kickass here. 
9. Uki Uki ★ Midnight - A strange hybrid of metal and dubstep. Not that it's done before, but it hasn't been executed with such disorientation as it has here. It's a meh kinda song to me, but it does not let up the flow of the album. 
10. Catch Me If You Can - A very strong song, a lot faster than most of the songs here. Great instrumentation, great incorporation of electronic and dubstep nuances, and somehow still allowing space for death vocals. I love the upbeat tempo (that ending...). 
11. Akumu no Rondo - By far the strongest song on the album. It's tonally different, in that it's serious as opposed to all the cute antics elsewhere in the album. Su-Metal's voice is heavily auto-tuned here (well no, they are all heavily auto-tuned throughout the album). This is a production decision that baffles me, since the three are of them are more than competent live. f it were a decision to sound cold, perhaps? Either way, if you have no time for all the gimmickry, listen to this one song, 
12. Head Bangya!! - Another melody-driven song. Not very heavy, but it has an especially sweet chorus. It's a good song. 
13. Ijime Dame Zettai - The album closes with an above average song. If anything, this and 'Head Bangya!!' seem to be placed at the end to wash off whatever aftertaste 'Akumu no Rondo' left behind. It's a song that borrows heavily from power metal, which I already said I am not a fan of. It's tolerable enough with some more strong instrumentation. 

All in all, I enjoyed more than half of the album which is more than I can say for a lot of metal records this year. It's refreshing, and it deserves all the hype it's been receiving, be it on the charts or a chance to play with Lady Gaga. This is not going to appeal to those who prefer their grim metal, but hey, lighten up. On the downside, I did find the production to be very bland, almost hollow, after which I discovered the album has a dynamic range of DR5. It's not loud, it just feels like it could be made fuller. Or maybe that's my metal insecurities acting up.


 ★★★★☆

Reviews: Scott Walker + Sunn O))) - Soused & Sunn O))) + Ulver - Terrestrials

Scott Walker + Sunn O))) - Soused [Doom / Drone / Experimental]
Sunn O))) + Ulver - Terrestrials [Doom / Drone / Experimental]


This is a curious affair here. Three legendary artistes, two of whom left their metal backgrounds while the latter completely dethroned his own baroque pop beginnings for some truly twisted music in the past decade. In that sense, there seems to be some common ground between all of these guys, but the collaborations leave a lot to be desired.

The point of a collaboration is for either artiste to fuse their best efforts with the other, to offset their different styles to see if there is some harmony.

Terrestrials was released earlier, so I will review this first.

1. Let There Be Light - An 11 minute long opener may not be strange considering the bands' catalogues. It's mostly an atmospheric track that builds a steady momentum from virtually nothing. Sunn O))) isn't very dominant here, providing a few bassy notes here and there. Ulver's typically weird instrumentation with trumpets and keyboards is here. There is progression at the end... but nothing else?
2. Western Horn - The baton is passed to Sunn O))) here. A lot darker than the first track from the get go, I am not sure about the collaboration at this point because the roles of the bands are basically just reversed here, with Ulver doing the background this time. It's not too shabby a song, in fact, I did enjoy this one.
3. Eternal Return - A closer which finally brings the two bands together. A strangely emotional and heartfelt piece with violins, deep droning guitars. Kristoffer Rygg from Ulver provides his vocals for the second half of the song, and they are quite haunting.

Overall, one boring song, one okay song and one saving grace for the end. It could be mistaken for an EP with just three songs, but length seems to be an issue. I know both bands usually release songs at this length, but time isn't utilized as effectively in this collaboration. At DR10, there isn't much to complain about the production. That's an expected value given the bands' minimalist approach to music anyway. It's not that bad an album, but save for the last song, doesn't really accomplish anything.

Now on to the collaboration with Scott Walker:

1. Brando - Song opens on a completely strange note, perhaps a throwback to Walker's younger days. Sunn O))) comes in within a few seconds, but the production here is a lot less accommodating. Producer Peter Walsh has dedicated most of the soundstage to Walker, and the guitars sound completely underwhelming. It's not a bad song, but it goes on for far too long.
2. Herod 2014 - Actually an annoying song. What instrument is that at the chorus- is that even a chorus? Even more annoying is that this is the longest song on the album. The collaboration sounds off here, neither Scott Walker nor Sunn O))) seem to fit each other's style.
3. Bull - The song that was used for the teaser. Not a bad song, actually. It has an accessible chorus, which seems uncharacteristic for Sunn O))) anyway.  This song actually carries the menace that both artistes have embodied in their most recent work. The second half is pure Sunn O))), but with Walker's production. Not cool.
4. Fetish - Continuing with more menace, the only song with actual variation in this album. Drums come at the last part and Walker tries to be melodic here. However, as with the third song, the 'collaboration' seems to be just alternating between the two artistes rather than marrying them.
5. Lullaby - one hell of a repetitive closer. If there's one thing this record achieves though, it's tension. Both the artistes are maniacal in delivery, and this particular song is particularly creepy. Walker uses his higher register for the chorus, and his wailing is frightening. Again, length is a serious issue here.

Too long, too little variations and poor production on Walker's part. Again, not bad, but very underwhelming.

I would recommend you to listen to the artiste's better works though. I only listened to these albums because I hold the individual artistes in high regard.

Terrestrials - ★★★☆☆

Soused - ★★☆☆☆

Decapitated - Blood Mantra Review

Decapitated - Blood Mantra [Death Metal / Groove Metal]

1. Exiled In Flesh - First song starts off with a pretty angry riff. The main riff is nice, but it does not really climax. Right off the bat, I am pretty taken aback by the speed and heaviness of the band on this song alone. Song ends with some atomospheric intuerlude, giving you just a little breath before-
2. Blasphemous Psalm To The Dummy God Creation - Despite the hideous title, this song is even faster than the first (well done to whoever ordered the songs here). Rafał Piotrowski is actually a pretty strong vocalist, metalcore or not. His lengthy screams on the chorus are orgasmic. Meshuggah vibes are quite obvious, but they are not bland carbon copies. Młody steps up to the late Vitek's drums with a lot of vigor, his drums lead this song.
3. Veins - By now you should be aware that Decapitated have thrown away their technical side in favour of groove-laden songs, and the groove on this album packs a serious punch. This song even has a heavy breakdown, and as with the first song, suddenly has a slow section with introspective guitars. This has been a curious theme for this album (another influence from Meshuggah's Koloss?). It's a decent song, and almost ready-made for weight lifting sessions. Skip the interlude if you are doing some power lifts, though.
4. Blood Mantra - Surprise; a melodic chorus! It's a catchy song, and cruises with just enough variation to keep going. Vogg's guitars and Młody's drums really compliment each other well.
5. Nest - The beauty of this song is in its latent complexity It appears simple and groovy but has quite a bit of polyrhythms going on. The solo isn't so much a solo as it is an interlude, but it does help to break the staccato.
6. Instinct - Some crazy riffing over here. A fantastic song. Enough said.
7. Blindness - A personal favourite song on this album. Another example of polyrhythms (guitars are 3/4 while drums are 4/4). This also another very Meshuggah-like song, but goes further to add a more personal tone to the songs. It's Meshuggah with a lot more raw emotion and introspection. Excellent execution. A slow Decapitated song would have been thought a joke ten years ago., but this is probably one of the best songs Decapitated has ever done.
8. Red Sun - Seems like it's following what Meshuggah did with 'The Last Vigil', but it's not the album closer. Again, smart move by whoever structured the album sequence.
9. Moth Defect - The band ends on a very interesting note. The song is mid-paced and is not as long as it seems (bloated by atmospherics again). Some crazy snare rolls in the chorus, and some pretty experimental songwriting.

In all, I would have to say I am pleasantly surprised by this album. I did not enjoy 'Carnival Is Forever' as much as their back catalog, and was worried if the band had hit its creative peak. With nearly every member replaced in the band for the second time, it's good to see that Vogg continues to churn out some memorable guitar-driven songs here.

Production-wise, the band does just okay. It's mastered very loudly at DR7, but it's not brickwalled. The mix is fantastic though, the guitars and drums are very thick here. Bass is almost inaudible, but I suppose that's also because bassist Paweł Pasek isn't doing much anyway.

As for the album itself, it might be a bummer for those expecting their earlier material. It's a very steady, mid-paced album, and I appreciate the maturity in songwriting. It seems like the logical direction too, and I am happy to say that I find this album much more enjoyable than their previous one. Very well-written death / groove metal.

★★★★☆

Cannibal Corpse - A Skeletal Domain Review

Cannibal Corpse - A Skeletal Domain [Death Metal]



As usual, song by song:

1. High Velocity Impact Splatter - first of five songs written by guitarist Pat O'Brien, it's actually surprisingly easy to tell who wrote which song here. A very powerful introduction, and some fantastic vocals by George Fisher (who would have thought, huh?). O'Brien's riff in the verses is fantastic.
2. Sadistic Embodiment - again, written by O'Brien. This however, is a very average song, which only picks up when the tempo drops.
3. Kill Or Become - first of two songs written by the other guitarist Rob Barrett, and he seriously brings the grooves on this album. Why he has not written more is a topic of discussion for another blog, I guess. Fantastic solo, great galloping riffs, and a surprisingly exhilarating moment when Fisher screams "FIRE UP THE CHAINSAW!". One of the best songs on the album.
4. A Skeletal Domain - third number by O'Brien. So far not stopping the momentum of the album, groovy sections interlaced by blastbeats. The emphasis of this album is groove, as opposed to technical mastery on 'Torture, the band's previous album. Whatever was done to Fisher's vocals in the mix is really working so far. This song is also considerably sinister.
5. Headlong Into Carnage - first song on the album written by bassist and founding member Alex Webster, and it really shows, since Webster was the main writer on previous albums. An average mid-paced song though. I would not count it as filler straight away, it does well enough to be above that, but isn't is memorable as the first four songs.
6. The Murderer's Pact - again by Webster. Very black metal-ish vibes around the chorus. The riffs here are so tight. This song caught me off guard, quite a variation from Cannibal Corpse's standard fare. A very strong song.
7. Funeral Cremation - More Webster. It's clearly filler. You start to wonder why Webster hasn't sprung out on any bass solo yet.
8. Icepick Lobotomy - second song by Rob Barrett, and my personal favourite of the album. Great riffs, catchy chrous, and a great change of pace in the middle. Cannibal Corpse can't get better than this.
9. Vector Of Cruelty - Webster's fourth song. Very uninspiring.
10. Bloodstained Cement - The last Webster song. Tapped my foot a bit here and there, but there is really nothing much to add. Again. Webster's refusal to break into bass wankery confuses me, that would have been a lot more interesting that this song.
11. Asphyxiate To Resuscitate - Co-written by Barrett and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. This song is a little more vicious, and as with Barett's other songs, there is a hell lot of groove. Not a bad song, though it does leave something to be desired.
12. Hallowed Bodies - O'Brien's last song ends the album on a rather high note with an absolutely ferocious riff. Guitar driven and brutal, this wipes any bitter aftertaste left by the previous few songs.

Some things to note when viewing the album as a whole; nothing to expect from George Fisher, he is serviceable here. Guitar directions are surprisingly welcome on this album, bass springs through every note played here. Great mixing, terrible mastering at DR4 (highly compressed). However the production itself isn't bad when discounting the numbers. Paul Mazurkiewicz's drumming pulls the whole band down because he plays the same repetitive thing again and again. Bummed because he was getting better on the last few albums.

Still not as good an album as 'Torture', still not as good as 'The Bleeding' (the best Cannibal Corpse album ever made). Not a bad album per say, but not close to being a good one, seeing as half the songs were filler.

★★★☆☆

Opeth - Pale Communion Review

Opeth - Pale Communion [Progressive Rock]

It's kinda interesting to review this album. I have been a huge fan of Opeth, though that slowly diminished over the years (subtle hint). As with the last few albums, I will go through this one song by song first:

1. Eternal Rains Will Come - Not everyone's a fan of the abrupt introduction? I'm neutral to it, it doesn't really hamper the album in the long run. This song is actually a really good first impression on the album. For one, it's dynamic, a quality that was seemingly lost on Heritage (at least to me).
2. Cusp Of Eternity - The lead single of the album. This song is kinda meh for me. Mikael's crooning at the chorus is quite a nice touch, although he's been overusing this style ever since he discovered it in Watershed. It's in this song that you start to realize that Steven Wilson's production on the album is terrific, one of the best for this year. Song ends with a gorgeous guitar solo.
3. Moon Above, Sun Below - Things get quite tricky here. This song is terribly disjointed. The irony is that this song is structurally the most similar to the death metal style we've all loved in older Opeth. Mikael's vocal patterns here are weird, it's hard to put a finger on it. His technique is admirable, but his singing voice isn't convincing for the hard-rock approach they've tried to incorporate here. About the meandering, some nice bits here and there, otherwise a very skippable song.
4. Elysisan Woes - A ballad that's almost a wholesale copy of King Crimson. Wailing to keyboards. Not that it's a bad thing, but it's not the best execution here.
5. Goblin - My personal favourite on this album. It's a tribute to the 70s band of the same name. It's one the few times that everyone in the band plays with synergy, not just playing their parts but interlocking them. Very intricate songwriting, the kind of thing I expect from a PROGRESSIVE band. Martin Axenrot is on fine form for this whole album. I hardly find it surprising that my favourite song turns out to be an instrumental.
6. River - A surprisingly beautiful song on the album. Again, another hallmark of Opeth songs was the level of emotions invested in their songs. This song has a lot of that. It's heartfelt and earnest, and thankfully kept to a coherent 7 minutes.
7. Voice Of Treason - Another song that seems underwhelming to me. Mikael's singing is off (again because he doesn't seem to be able to input some personality in his 'rock' voice). Song meanders on and on, one or two riffs that stand out. Nothing else.
8. Faith In Others - Very reminiscent of their 'Damnations' era. A decent closer, but doesn't provide anything more interesting than the album's first half. I enjoyed the crooning at the end this time though.
9. I will not talk about the two bonus live songs, but they are pretty decent to listen to even if they do not contribute to the actual album.

As a whole package, the album feels much more fully realised than Heritage, but doesn't do anything to dissuade audiences who prefer their death metal era. Not that it's a matter of taste, but I find that Opeth's progressive rock era doesn't offer anything new. It's great 70s prog worship, but as with Heritage, I would rather hear actual 70s prog than this. The band has followed the textbook closely, and offered some intricate songs, but most of the songs are self-indulgent re-imaginations of the yesteryears. Mikael Åkerfeldt's vision is clear, but his execution is not there because he does not have a commanding voice. Quite the contrary, he has a beautiful, angelic voice well suited for acoustic passages and mournful songs, not the ballsy-attitudes he tries to bring to the table here. It's also deeply ironic that he gave up death metal for this kind of singing (although recent live shows reveal a more important reason- he has lost his growl). Martin Axenrot has to be praised for completely changing his game, his methodical death metal drum work has matured a lot, and his drumming is almost unrecognizable here. He inserts many fills throughout the songs, and he accounts for a large part of the tight playing here. Martín Méndez's hasn't done a great job here, he's probably still adjusting to the band's change of genres. Bass has been a hallmark of 70s prog and it's a letdown that he hasn't bothered to step up, even if he's been in the background for the most part in his Opeth career.

I am still trying to figure out how Fredrik Åkesson (guitars) and Joakim Svalberg (keyboards) contribute to this album. The latter especially, the keyboards are almost background fillers, automatic cues for a sappy ballad or a 'sad' moment in the song.

As mentioned earlier, the production is ace, at a whopping DR11. You wouldn't need to read this statistic; the magic is in the attention to detail when you hear it. Steven Wilson has been on a roll with his production duties lately, even if his singing is not up to standard in his own projects (huehuehue-).

So with all these said, it's with a heavy heart that I bestow this album a:

★★★☆☆

It's actually more of a 3.5, but we don't know enough coding to write that in. It's a decent album, but far from this band's best work.

Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase I - Neohumanity) Review

Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase I - Neohumanity) [Melodic Death Metal]

 

Listening to this album has rendered me temporarily unable to express my thoughts in coherent, structured paragraphs, so here goes:

1. The vocals on this album are a huge letdown. Hopefully this doesn't become part of a larger post-Christian Alvestam trend; if the work on "Dark Matter Dimensions" was forgivable at least, the material here certainly isn't.

2. The band has taken their trademark 'corny' shtick a tad too far this time round. It worked in the past - see, for example, the music video for "The Illusionist" - because it contrasted so starkly with how everything else about their material was more than worthy of being taken seriously. Now, the cheesy synth effects, when taken alongside the often-clownish vocals, produce the exact opposite effect.

3. The drum work is solid, but nothing new.

4. The guitar work is, as expected, top-tier. The solos, in particular, are immaculate, allowing the listener to conclude nothing other than that a lot of time, skill and thought must have been put into their creation and execution. Per Nilsson is one of the best things to have happened to music in the past decade or so.

5. However, this only goes a small way towards salvaging an album that starts off oddly (via the strange 53-second piece "The Shape of Things to Come") and never stabilises. There is no "best" or "signature" track to this album (the track closest to this honour being "Spiral Timeshift"), which might be a good thing if the album was a masterpiece, but unfortunately is not the case here given that it falls far short of such a standard.

6. Scar Symmetry has long banked on these things to keep itself relevant: (1) creative guitar work, (2) strong vocals and (3) that unteachable ability to create songs that linger in the listener's memory. As regards The Singularity (Part I), element (2) is rather in question, and element (3) is unquestionably missing. This is not the band's finest moment.

★★★☆☆