- Apr 5, 2003
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Acumen Nation - Anticore
Crash Music - CMU 61184 - 9/19/06
By Brandon Strader
Acumen Nation are back with their seventh album after a successful history of albums and also producing music for video games, TV, and the like. I'm not going to pretend I've heard any of the game or TV music work, because I haven't, but if it was anything like this I can almost guarantee you the game work was probably featured on a Tony Hawk soundtrack and the TV work, well.... It's probably that one show you really, really hate. That's not to say Acumen Nation is not good, their style just doesn't seem to fit those other mediums. They weave catchy little webs of electronic hardcore seperated by ambient sounds and samples which gives the band a fairly unique sound, and keeps the experience pretty fresh. The downfall, however, is that after listening, Anticore will seem more like a "gateway drug" than a metal album. There will probably be more people discovering metal through this album than there will be metalheads choosing to listen to it.
One thing can be sure about Anticore: it is extremely catchy, and the verse / chorus section of each song is distinguishable from each other, and equally fun. Some parts, like the chorus on "Black Son Hole", sounds like one of those cliché rock progressions from my childhood... "My Life's Last Breath" is a good example of the musical mixture going on here, and may possibly be the most awesome track on Anticore. It's a very intense tune that is heavier than most of the others and more consistent. Most of the vocals have a certain ammount of distortion on them, which takes away a bit of the vocal depth but overall is not too distracting. Anticore is quite the behemoth clocking in at 65 minutes, a length usually reserved for conceptual prog albums and such, and is stuffed with possible hit after possible hit. Acumen Nation have had a lot of time to hone their skills over the years, and although this isn't a gut-ripping display of technical abilities, it is varied enough to be entertaining and the electronic elements provide a whole dimension of the music to enjoy... Admittedly without the electronic elements the music would probably be quite a bit more generic.
7.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Acumen Nation Website
Official Crash Music Website
Crash Music - CMU 61184 - 9/19/06
By Brandon Strader
Acumen Nation are back with their seventh album after a successful history of albums and also producing music for video games, TV, and the like. I'm not going to pretend I've heard any of the game or TV music work, because I haven't, but if it was anything like this I can almost guarantee you the game work was probably featured on a Tony Hawk soundtrack and the TV work, well.... It's probably that one show you really, really hate. That's not to say Acumen Nation is not good, their style just doesn't seem to fit those other mediums. They weave catchy little webs of electronic hardcore seperated by ambient sounds and samples which gives the band a fairly unique sound, and keeps the experience pretty fresh. The downfall, however, is that after listening, Anticore will seem more like a "gateway drug" than a metal album. There will probably be more people discovering metal through this album than there will be metalheads choosing to listen to it.
One thing can be sure about Anticore: it is extremely catchy, and the verse / chorus section of each song is distinguishable from each other, and equally fun. Some parts, like the chorus on "Black Son Hole", sounds like one of those cliché rock progressions from my childhood... "My Life's Last Breath" is a good example of the musical mixture going on here, and may possibly be the most awesome track on Anticore. It's a very intense tune that is heavier than most of the others and more consistent. Most of the vocals have a certain ammount of distortion on them, which takes away a bit of the vocal depth but overall is not too distracting. Anticore is quite the behemoth clocking in at 65 minutes, a length usually reserved for conceptual prog albums and such, and is stuffed with possible hit after possible hit. Acumen Nation have had a lot of time to hone their skills over the years, and although this isn't a gut-ripping display of technical abilities, it is varied enough to be entertaining and the electronic elements provide a whole dimension of the music to enjoy... Admittedly without the electronic elements the music would probably be quite a bit more generic.
7.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Acumen Nation Website
Official Crash Music Website
Does "Black Son Hole" have any relation to the famous Soundgarden song, "Black Hole Sun"? 
