Figure Of Six - Step One
Casket Music - CSK062 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
Starting life as a hardcore band before shifting direction to include electronics, scratching and increased melodicism into their sound, Italian sextet Figure Of Six released Step One last year to some critical acclaim. Not quite sure why it's taken this long to reach us here at UM.com, but to be honest, I'm not sure too many people here are going to be into this anyway. Their Myspace page has a line that describes them as 'the missing link between Linkin Park and Slipknot'. There, now I can practically guarantee that no-one is reading this.
Admittedly, the next line in the Myspace blurb says that this wouldn't be telling the whole story, which is true - there's some fairly burly, if somewhat simplistic riffage involved which evokes the likes of Static-X and Apartment 26 far more than the above-mentioned bands, and the smattering of drum-and-bass influence throughout evokes later Pitchshifter too. The production is adequate, but doesn't really have either the weight to make this a particularly punishing listen, nor the clarity to make the keyboard/scratching soundscapes backing up the metal aspects as all-encompassing and engrossing as the band are clearly aiming for.
The vocals bely the band's hardcore background, with pleasantly full-on throaty shouting utilised throughout, with the near ubiquitous rapping thankfully kept to a bare minimum. The riffs are pretty catchy, and occasionally (like on the last minute or so of 'Myself') the band manages to fuse a hardcore breakdown with their other influences to pretty impressive effect. Sadly though, these moments of cohesion are the exception rather than the norm, and Figure Of Six end up sounding like a band with potential who haven't quite marshalled their influences into an individual sound as of yet.
5.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Figure Of Six's Offiical Website
Casket Music's Official Website
Casket Music - CSK062 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
Starting life as a hardcore band before shifting direction to include electronics, scratching and increased melodicism into their sound, Italian sextet Figure Of Six released Step One last year to some critical acclaim. Not quite sure why it's taken this long to reach us here at UM.com, but to be honest, I'm not sure too many people here are going to be into this anyway. Their Myspace page has a line that describes them as 'the missing link between Linkin Park and Slipknot'. There, now I can practically guarantee that no-one is reading this.
Admittedly, the next line in the Myspace blurb says that this wouldn't be telling the whole story, which is true - there's some fairly burly, if somewhat simplistic riffage involved which evokes the likes of Static-X and Apartment 26 far more than the above-mentioned bands, and the smattering of drum-and-bass influence throughout evokes later Pitchshifter too. The production is adequate, but doesn't really have either the weight to make this a particularly punishing listen, nor the clarity to make the keyboard/scratching soundscapes backing up the metal aspects as all-encompassing and engrossing as the band are clearly aiming for.
The vocals bely the band's hardcore background, with pleasantly full-on throaty shouting utilised throughout, with the near ubiquitous rapping thankfully kept to a bare minimum. The riffs are pretty catchy, and occasionally (like on the last minute or so of 'Myself') the band manages to fuse a hardcore breakdown with their other influences to pretty impressive effect. Sadly though, these moments of cohesion are the exception rather than the norm, and Figure Of Six end up sounding like a band with potential who haven't quite marshalled their influences into an individual sound as of yet.
5.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Figure Of Six's Offiical Website
Casket Music's Official Website
