Bard F
Member
http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=9231 (2nd review)
Not sure where to begin on this one, Somnambulist being a musical hodge-podge of ideas and flavors that is almost impossible to classify or at times even understand. (Sic)Monic are a young band who obviously love all forms of metal, so expect elements of death metal, metalcore, progressive metal, thrash, and nu-metal thrown into the mix here, along with, of all things, hip hop. That's right folks, Somnambulist is all over the place, and while some of it works, some does not.
I have to give the band credit for throwing a wide assortment of vocal styles here, from soaring clean passages, to pig grunts, to hardcore barks, to death metal growls and near black metallish rasps. Throw in the hip hop stylings, and you have a very odd combination, which oddly enough at times it clicks. "To the Fiendz" features some complex riffery and a never ending array of vocal attacks, while "Illumination" has some passages that will easily please the progressive metal crowd. "Requiem" is actually a quite gorgeous ballad, featuring lovely vocals and acoustic guitar, showing a side of the band that you don't see too often throughout the rest of the CD. "Oxygen" is sure to appeal to fans of Sevendust, while "Acidic Epiphanies" mixes Into Eternity/Divinity styled progressive extreme metal with more mainsteam sounds. I'll admit to being fairly amused at their hip hop/metal take on The Charlie Daniels Band classic "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"-hey, why not.
In the end, you'll be fairly exhausted after listening to Somnambulist. There's plenty of solid material here, but unfortunately the CD is way too long (15 songs) and there's just too many styles going on that it makes you dizzy when it's all said and done. This band certainly has some talent, but I'd like to see them streamline their sound a little and focus on doing one thing and doing it well.
Not sure where to begin on this one, Somnambulist being a musical hodge-podge of ideas and flavors that is almost impossible to classify or at times even understand. (Sic)Monic are a young band who obviously love all forms of metal, so expect elements of death metal, metalcore, progressive metal, thrash, and nu-metal thrown into the mix here, along with, of all things, hip hop. That's right folks, Somnambulist is all over the place, and while some of it works, some does not.
I have to give the band credit for throwing a wide assortment of vocal styles here, from soaring clean passages, to pig grunts, to hardcore barks, to death metal growls and near black metallish rasps. Throw in the hip hop stylings, and you have a very odd combination, which oddly enough at times it clicks. "To the Fiendz" features some complex riffery and a never ending array of vocal attacks, while "Illumination" has some passages that will easily please the progressive metal crowd. "Requiem" is actually a quite gorgeous ballad, featuring lovely vocals and acoustic guitar, showing a side of the band that you don't see too often throughout the rest of the CD. "Oxygen" is sure to appeal to fans of Sevendust, while "Acidic Epiphanies" mixes Into Eternity/Divinity styled progressive extreme metal with more mainsteam sounds. I'll admit to being fairly amused at their hip hop/metal take on The Charlie Daniels Band classic "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"-hey, why not.
In the end, you'll be fairly exhausted after listening to Somnambulist. There's plenty of solid material here, but unfortunately the CD is way too long (15 songs) and there's just too many styles going on that it makes you dizzy when it's all said and done. This band certainly has some talent, but I'd like to see them streamline their sound a little and focus on doing one thing and doing it well.