Frantic Bleep reviews

Hopkins-WitchfinderGeneral said:
it got 4/6

The guy basically said he didn't like it but he thought it was probably good anyway... fair enough i suppose.

edit: do you have any messaging software like msn or aim? PM your screen-name if you do

No not yet at least. I'll let you know when I do. It was the same thing in close-up. I know the editor in ZT really like the album, so why do they give it to someone who doesn't?

:err:
 
Frantic Bleep - The Sense Apparatus [Elitist] ...from Zero Tolerance Magazine...

Frantic Bleep are a band that I truely find hard to enjoy, because their music is more fitting to a category that, say, Mr Bungle or A Perfect Circle belong to, albeit slightly more riff orientated and have the odd extreme vocal throughout most of the songs. As a concept on paper they sound good; a band trying to evolve out of traditional metal and provide something a little different and fresh and exciting.

However, the lack of aggression and the stop-start nature of the hard riffs and soft passages with clean vocals make it a difficult record for me to like.I'm sure Frantic Bleep will find their fanbase, it's just a question of where. The standard of musicianship is certainly very good and the whole record is beautifully recorded. The Sense Apparatus is a record that might alienate metal fans and be a little too metal for the likes of the Kerrang! reading elitists who find bands like Tool, Shellac and those mentioned previously to be the best thing since sliced bread.

This CD gets a good mark but its just not for me - maybe it will be a grower of the coming months. 4/6

Thar she blows
 
That's a real cop out of a review. I get the feeling the guy is sat on the fence because he genuinely doesn't have a clue. He's able to give a mildly subjective "I don't like this", but lacks the expertise to be able to say why.

Hopkins-WitchfinderGeneral said:
Frantic Bleep - The Sense Apparatus [Elitist] ...from Zero Tolerance Magazine...

Frantic Bleep are a band that I truely find hard to enjoy, because their music is more fitting to a category that, say, Mr Bungle or A Perfect Circle belong to, albeit slightly more riff orientated and have the odd extreme vocal throughout most of the songs. As a concept on paper they sound good; a band trying to evolve out of traditional metal and provide something a little different and fresh and exciting.

However, the lack of aggression and the stop-start nature of the hard riffs and soft passages with clean vocals make it a difficult record for me to like.I'm sure Frantic Bleep will find their fanbase, it's just a question of where. The standard of musicianship is certainly very good and the whole record is beautifully recorded. The Sense Apparatus is a record that might alienate metal fans and be a little too metal for the likes of the Kerrang! reading elitists who find bands like Tool, Shellac and those mentioned previously to be the best thing since sliced bread.

This CD gets a good mark but its just not for me - maybe it will be a grower of the coming months. 4/6

Thar she blows
 
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http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/


Review from Classic Rock Magazine.

Frantic Bleep- The Sense Apparatus
(Earache/Elitist)

Frantic Bleep come from a black metal background and successfully blend some of the heavy melancholic Artic atmosphere that the best church-burners can evoke with the post-psychedelic melodrama of King Crimson circa "Moonchild". There's no run of the mill about Frantic Bleep; like Sweden's Opeth, black metal "supergroup" Arcturus and vocalist/bassist Paul Mozart Bjørke's other band Madder Mortem, they have quickly evolved from the limits of their particular genre into something that- arguably - is no longer classifiable as heavy metal, having taken the plunge straight into the netherworld of art rock. The eerie ambient backdrop to "Mausolos" and the Tool-like structure of "Nebulous Termini" merely hint at the bands roots in dark metal. It's even a concept album, about "how the human senses react and work in a human being's daily life": sort of like "Tommy" for intellectuals. This is a remarkable album, packed full of ideas.

3/5

Tommy Udo.

And still no Metal Hammer review... Who do you have to bribe to get a review in that mag anyway? Looks like it's easier to get a feature in Rolling Stone or someting.
 
Here it is. The review from everybodys favorite gossip magazine:


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Metal Hammer (UK) Review.

Frantic Bleep - The Sense Apparatus
(Elitist)

Formed four years ago, Norwegian-based Frantic Bleep are among the most original, imaginative and focussed bands functioning on the avant-garde black metal scene right now. Combining progressive rock artistry with clinical, icy atmospherics and groovy, chunky riffing, the four piece are comparable to Opeth, Spiral Architect, King Crimson and Madder Mortem - the latter a former band of vocalist/bassist Paul Mozart Bjørke. Melody and instrumental sparseness are two vital ingredients of this conceptual debut, which asks questions about how human senses operate in daily life. Fortunately, it's nowhere as pretentious or dull as that may sound. Guitarist Patrick Scantlebury doubles up on keyboards, his contribution to Mausolos being especially eerie, but Frantic Bleep make very big noises on the likes of A Survey and Nebulous Termini.

8/10

Dave Ling.
 
A review from Chaos realm:

FRANTIC BLEEP - "The Sense Apparatus" CD -05 (The End, Norway) Hey, this is really good! I know that sounds like a kinda nerdy way to describe something, but I must say this is one of the most interesting sounding new bands I've heard in the last little while, and it just gives me that zesty, minty-fresh feeling! Ok, ok, I know that's a little weird. Anyway, FRANTIC BLEEP (what kind of a name is that anyway?!) comes packaged with a booklet that kinda reminds me of Tool's "Lateralus" had the artist not had a zillion $ budget. You know, lots of anatomical diagrams, that kinda stuff. Combining that with the fact that the band was from Norway, I'm thinking this is either a black metal band with a graphics person who was not paying attention to the music or a "house" music act with a penchant for bizarre song titles. In point of fact, what we have here is a superbly unique metal band with some wonderful ideas for original songs, not only musically but lyrically as well. The music kinda reminds me of a cross between some of the earlier Psychotic Waltz material had it been mixed with a tad of rawer, yes black metal influence, and one of the 80's super-rare bands, Adra Melch, plus even the much more unusual 2nd Lazarus Sin record. The vocals are somewhat mid-ranged, not what I'd call gruff, and certainly not air-raid-siren either just right for the music. They also go well with lyrics that revolve around a fantasy/philosophical bent of some sort, invoking such lines as: "In the corners they were moulded, the two hailstorm spears. With most protection from time immemorial. Carvings bore testimony to the three Circletowers." The guitarwork, while not containing a lot of traditional soloing per se, is extremely impressive without being drowned in technicality and the production of the disc is sterling & powerful. The more I listen to this, the more I like it a lot! I love surprises like this.

www.franticbleep.com


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