Hidden Alexisstar Morphalite
Baphomet Records 2005
By Russell Garwood
Having reviewed Hiddens previous effort, I know that it will be futile trying to find anything out about the band again. Perhaps to keep the focus on the music, or perhaps to retain mystique, the band release no personal information whatsoever. So, on to the music. Here we have some more science metal, a mix of doom, death, thrash and black elements, all about yup, you guess it science. The vocals are a mid-range growl (possibly from Killjoy? Hey, theyre signed to Baphomet!), under which the guitars are rather varied. Often they convey a lot of melody, and traverse numerous styles; they are not particularly tight, but that is in fitting with the music. The drums under this are well peformed; nothing extraordinary, but quite effective. The bass tends to follow and support effectively the guitars. Occasional keyboards and effects seem to be a new addition to the bands sound, and make the already varied style even more diverse.
This is all buried beneath a mix about as murky the treatment tanks at a sewage plant. This is unchanged from Spectral Magnitude, the albums predecessor, so is likely to be intentional. All in all Alexisstar Morphalite is a solid and interesting release. Being a geology student, Id like to complain (again) that the scientific lyrics are pretty much just a collection of scientific words, that usually dont make a great deal of sense, but thats just me being anal. Interesting and original stuff, shame about the mix.
7.5/10
Official Baphomet Records website
Baphomet Records 2005
By Russell Garwood
Having reviewed Hiddens previous effort, I know that it will be futile trying to find anything out about the band again. Perhaps to keep the focus on the music, or perhaps to retain mystique, the band release no personal information whatsoever. So, on to the music. Here we have some more science metal, a mix of doom, death, thrash and black elements, all about yup, you guess it science. The vocals are a mid-range growl (possibly from Killjoy? Hey, theyre signed to Baphomet!), under which the guitars are rather varied. Often they convey a lot of melody, and traverse numerous styles; they are not particularly tight, but that is in fitting with the music. The drums under this are well peformed; nothing extraordinary, but quite effective. The bass tends to follow and support effectively the guitars. Occasional keyboards and effects seem to be a new addition to the bands sound, and make the already varied style even more diverse.
This is all buried beneath a mix about as murky the treatment tanks at a sewage plant. This is unchanged from Spectral Magnitude, the albums predecessor, so is likely to be intentional. All in all Alexisstar Morphalite is a solid and interesting release. Being a geology student, Id like to complain (again) that the scientific lyrics are pretty much just a collection of scientific words, that usually dont make a great deal of sense, but thats just me being anal. Interesting and original stuff, shame about the mix.
7.5/10
Official Baphomet Records website
