Face Down The Will To Power
Black Lodge Records BLOD 069CD 04.11.05
By Anna Novitzky
Imagine, if you will, a mountain: vast, ageless, impressive. Now imagine a sandblaster. Bring the two together. See the effect the latter has on the former? Vicious, immediate destruction to the area to which it is applied; virtually no effect on the overall scheme of things. That, my friends, is an almost perfect analogy for the effect of The Will To Power on your listening mind.
The newly reformed Face Down play brutal Swedish thrash with malice and venom but not much ingenuity. It is gaspingly relentless, pausing for breath only between songs and during the inexplicable piano interludes framing sixth track 'Grey', but also strikingly monotonous. Once one has adjusted to the onslaught, it just sort of carries on, like an army attacking a fortress under siege wave after wave of violence making no visible impact. Sludgy production and manic vocals give the album a deliciously unpleasant sound, but in the end they are no substitute for musical interest.
Raised in profile since their resurrection vocalist Marco Aro growled with The Haunted during this bands hiatus Face Down will no doubt make a mark on the metal scene this time around, and technically, no doubt, it is deserved. A real breakthrough, however, will have to wait until they can introduce some variation to their sound then theyll really be able to stick some dynamite under that mountain.
5/10
Official Face Down Website
Official Black Lodge Records Website
Black Lodge Records BLOD 069CD 04.11.05
By Anna Novitzky
Imagine, if you will, a mountain: vast, ageless, impressive. Now imagine a sandblaster. Bring the two together. See the effect the latter has on the former? Vicious, immediate destruction to the area to which it is applied; virtually no effect on the overall scheme of things. That, my friends, is an almost perfect analogy for the effect of The Will To Power on your listening mind.
The newly reformed Face Down play brutal Swedish thrash with malice and venom but not much ingenuity. It is gaspingly relentless, pausing for breath only between songs and during the inexplicable piano interludes framing sixth track 'Grey', but also strikingly monotonous. Once one has adjusted to the onslaught, it just sort of carries on, like an army attacking a fortress under siege wave after wave of violence making no visible impact. Sludgy production and manic vocals give the album a deliciously unpleasant sound, but in the end they are no substitute for musical interest.
Raised in profile since their resurrection vocalist Marco Aro growled with The Haunted during this bands hiatus Face Down will no doubt make a mark on the metal scene this time around, and technically, no doubt, it is deserved. A real breakthrough, however, will have to wait until they can introduce some variation to their sound then theyll really be able to stick some dynamite under that mountain.
5/10
Official Face Down Website
Official Black Lodge Records Website
